


Omega

by SIFoote (TheMayWaters)



Series: Sanctuary Omegaverse [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Complete, F/M, In Hiding, M/M, Mild Smut, Minor Character Death Mentioned, On the Run, Sanctuary Rewrite, Slaves, dark themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2020-07-10 09:40:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 38,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19903657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMayWaters/pseuds/SIFoote
Summary: In a world where omegas are the bottom of the food chain, several omegas find themselves on the run. Once they finally find a home—one they can settle in with a pseudo family—omega hunters find their camp and put them on sale at the black market.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is a rewrite of my original fic "Sanctuary". I didn't like the direction I was going with it so I decided to rewrite it under this title with a slightly different focus. I hope you enjoy it more than the original, or if you're not here from the original, I hope that you enjoy it and never read the original. LOL

There’s a harsh difference between dreams and reality in a world divided by sub-gender. In a perfect world, Tsukishima Kei would remain at home with his parents and brother—except the world loved to screw him over. From a beta family with a long history of beta children, his future was predetermined. He even figured that his best friend would be a beta as well. The girl in their kindergarten class though, the one that always cried in submission, she would be an omega and no doubt sold off to earn her family a little more income. Tsukishima was confident that he was right about his plans for the future—before reality settled in.

“Kei?” Akiteru knocked on his bedroom door, concern wafted through his tone. “Are you okay?”

Tsukishima groaned and buried himself further under his covers. “No, everything hurts.”

“I think you have a fever.” His older brother pushed his way into the room with a tray of food in his hands. His brother was fairly tall, but it looked like Tsukishima might pass him up, even if he was several years younger and not fully developed. Akiteru also had dirty blond hair versus Kei’s distinct light blond.

“I feel more pain than cold,” he rolled over in the sheets and watched his brother set the tray on his nightstand and push his lamp and alarm clock back.

Akiteru straightened and pressed a hand firmly against Kei’s forehead. “Fever. Your body probably aches as a result. We’ll keep you home from school for a couple more days until you feel better.”

“Okay,” Tsukishima agreed weakly.

“Feel better soon, and eat the miso soup I brought you.”

The blond nodded and pushed himself up in the bed to reach for the food, but the bowl slipped between his fingers and crashed to the floor. He was overtaken by a sudden lust and he could feel something wet pooling in his anal region. The skin felt swollen and when he reached down to explore the sensation, he found himself hard and sensitive. He rutted into his hand and his fingers brushed back into his ass and he gasped with pleasure.

The door swung back open and Akiteru looked first at the soup across the floor, then to his brother caught between embarrassment and ecstasy.

“Kei, you’re—”

“An omega,” his father appeared behind his son in the doorway.

“We have to help him.” Akiteru rushed forward and pulled Kei up into his arms. The omega pressed himself into his brother and tried to shield is hard-on. His underwear clung to his figure and rubbed sticky cum against him in a pleasant and equally disgusting way. “Kei, you’re going to be fine.”

“He’s going to make this family rich.” The glint in his father’s eye made Akiteru leery.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s an omega, we can sell him to a rich alpha.”

Kei keened at the word alpha, but his heart clenched at being tied to a soulless alpha in need of a good fuck every once in a while, that doesn’t care about children.

“You can’t.” The older brother hissed.

“It’s all he’s good for now.”

Akiteru pushed his father out of the way and ran with Kei outside of the house. He heard of omega houses, places where alphas could find good mates, and he looked one of the addresses up quickly on his phone. He followed the map up until he saw a shortcut through an alleyway. He ran through the dank alley and was cut off by a harsh cry of fear. He turned and located the open window that it came from. Akiteru lifted himself up onto his tiptoes to see through the window and he was shocked by the state of the room. As a beta, he never learned this far into it. The omega house was a sham.

The omegas in the room were strapped to the beds by metal chains with their asses in the air. The collar around their neck prevented them from moving too far from the iron bars of the headboard. Most of the omegas had blank expressions on their faces as alphas thrust themselves inside their leaking and awaiting asses or vaginas. One alpha would finish, their knot deflating far enough to let them pull out and another was there waiting to take their place. A few of the omegas were clearly in heat and their skin was torn to shreds under the frantic grating of several alphas trying to be the first to claim the omega with their knot. Akiteru felt his stomach churn, but what pushed him over the edge, was the children standing in the corner. Some of them tried to look away from the terrifying sight, but their heads were turned back by alpha and beta watchmen.

“That’ll be you if you present as an omega.”

Akiteru set Kei down on the ground and turned just in time to get away before he vomited across the already grimy ground. The younger brother let out a needy whine when the alpha pheromones bled out of the open window and Akiteru heard the people reacting inside the omega house. He quickly grabbed Kei again and took off running in the opposite direction. He couldn’t take the young teenager to an omega house—he couldn’t take him back home either.

This world was never built for omegas.

“Over here!” The voice caught him off guard and he turned to see a busty blonde waving at them from the end of the street. “You have an omega?”

“He’s my brother.” It only took a few moments for Akiteru to register the woman as a beta—the same as him.

“My brother is an omega too, get him into the house.” She pointed behind her and opened the gate.

Not having any better ideas, Akiteru followed her instructions and ran into the house. Kei whined at the unfamiliar setting and buried himself deeper into his brother’s shirt.

“The omega house—” he started.

“I know. Follow me,” she headed for the back of the house once the front door was locked and opened a closet near the back door for the yard. At the back of the closet was another door and when she pushed it open, a flight of stairs dropped down into the ground. Akiteru glanced at the blonde and she nodded encouragingly. He quickly headed down the stairs of the house and found himself on a landing in front of another door. He managed to grab the doorknob and pull it open, to find himself in a room of omegas.

“Another one? Nee-san, can we feed another one?” A bald man stood up near the back—his gaze focused on the woman.

“I’m sure we can handle one more. The beta is his brother, I’ll be sending him back.”

“Sending me back where?” Akiteru narrowed his gaze.

“Home—we only house omegas here. The ones that manage to not get caught by hunters, sold, or put in an omega house.”

“Is this—illegal?” He looked around the room.

“Very. Omegas are supposed to go to an omega house once they present according to the law. Of course, a lot of them don’t and they either end up on the streets fending for their lives, sent off in an arranged marriage, or captured by omega hunters. Omega hunters sell them off for a profit. As a beta, it’s impossible to know all of this. I found out the same way as you when Ryū presented.”

“Ryū?”

“My brother.” She pointed at the monk looking omega. “After I saw the omega house, I brought him back home and hid him while I figured out what to do. I wasn’t going to send my brother anywhere that would hurt him.”

“So, you took in more omegas and house them here.”

“I take in what I can, others I find a place for. I’m willing to keep him here, as long as you send me a little money to help take care of all the omegas. Plus, you can come visit him whenever you want.”

“I’ll send what I can—I only have my weekly allowance.”

“I’ll take it.” She slapped him on the back. “I’m Tanaka Saeko, by the way.”

“Tsukishima Akiteru, this is Kei.”

“Ryū, come take care of Kei, he’s in heat.”

The omega moved under her request and pulled the youngest blond away from his brother. The omega whined, but was immediately comforted by a wave of pheromones from the others.

“So, what made you run?”

“My dad wanted to sell him off to a rich alpha—so I thought I’d take him to the omega house, but I saw from a side window what went on in there and I couldn’t willingly put him there.”

“I totally get it—it’s rape. Alphas that are mated go there too because they say their partner isn’t enough for them. It’s disgusting. I have the same reasoning as you when it comes to taking care of and hiding my brother.”

“I trust you to take care of him here, I’ll visit him as often as I can.”

“He’d like that. If you can, bring some of his things from home when you visit next, it’d help him adjust better.” She turned back from the room. “You’ll need to leave as soon as possible. You never know whose eyes are watching.”

“I’ll return as soon as I can.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *writes future scenes for this story instead of continuing chapter 2* *starts other fanfics* *works on other fanfics*
> 
> Send help.
> 
> I hope you all like this update!

Tsukishima shivered in the cool air of the basement, but omega hands around him made him feel more comfortable. They offered him neutral scented blankets and pillows—a couple of them even had some toys that they volunteered to help relieve the lustful pressure in his rear end. They kept him hydrated and fed over the course of his heat. While he would’ve like to be at home, he could remember blips of conversation. His father wanted to sell him, Akiteru took him somewhere, there was a hushed whisper of rape close to the word omega house. He didn’t know whose hands touched, fed, or cleaned him, but they were omega hands and they were kind. The omegas wouldn’t hurt him—it wasn’t in their nature (according to science article studies).

He stirred from his heat three days later and found himself in an unfamiliar room with a silver haired male sitting in the corner closest to the door. He had a book in his hands and was a quiet companion in the room that smelled overly of lust. Kei rolled over in the blankets in search of his glasses and the other omega noticed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Warm. Where are my glasses?”

“I have them, we didn’t want them to get broken while you were in the mash up of a nest.” He handed the black frames gently to the blond. “I’m Sugawara Kōshi, but everyone here usually calls me Suga.”

“Tsukishima Kei.” He took in the simple tatami room and shivered. When he made to pull up the covers, he noticed that they were sticky with a residue he didn’t want to think about and he quickly crawled out of the messy blankets. “Where am I?”

“In the hidden basement of the Tanaka household. There’s only a few omegas that live here because Saeko-nee-san can only care for so many, but we’re like a little family.” Suga placed his bookmark in between the wrinkled pages and stood. He wrapped a clean and warm blanket around Tsukishima. “I had Noya draw you a bath earlier—all the other omegas are dying to meet you.”

“What happened to my nii-san?”

“All outsiders have to return to their homes at the end of the day. He dropped by a day after bringing you here to bring a few of your things from home, but he hasn’t been back since.” Suga was ready to catch the other omega when he staggered forward on weak and wobbly legs. “Bath first, talk later.”

The blond agreed weakly and let himself be led to a small bathroom only a single door away from the entirely tatami room. They didn’t pass anyone else in the hall and he was grateful for the momentary break. The bathroom was a little larger than he expected and there was a large towel rack with different colored towels—which he figured belonged to each omega in the house respectively. The tub was lined with tile and there was a drain system implemented in the floor for overflow.

Suga helped Tsukishima sit on a stool before he lifted a faucet to rinse him clean. The blond sighed in relief when the hot water washed over his sore muscles. The other omega wet his hair and rubbed shampoo through it in methodical circles with a light scalp massage behind every scrub. He never felt so pampered—it was nice, but also terrifying how easily he gave into his secondary gender instincts after just presenting.

Once his hair and skin were clean, he was moved to the tub for a soak in the hot water. He felt his tense muscles relax in the rising steam which was scented with eucalyptus.

“I heard that was your first heat.” Sugawara commented as he washed himself now on the stool in the bathroom.

“It was, I was terrified, but overcome with lust. I was more lucid at the beginning of my heat and remember my dad saying he was going to sell me off to a well-to-do alpha.”

“I thought your brother mentioned something about that when you first arrived.” Suga paused. He opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, and closed his mouth again. “It’s horrible finding yourself in a situation where you have no control. Mind if I join you in the bath?”

Tsukishima shook his head and pulled his legs up into his chest.

“Were all the omegas here nearly sold off?”

Kōshi shook his head. “Noya, escaped the omega house shortly before his second heat. They put you into the main room at the start of your second heat, is what he told us. Something about the new smell really drives the alpha wild and brings in a lot of cash for the omega house.”

“What is the omega house used for?”

“Breeding. Even when you’re pregnant they let the alphas at you. Some of them can’t stand the sight of an omega bearing a child that isn’t theirs. Noya told us that’s when they’re brutalized the most. Some of them loose the baby, but if you do make it full term, as soon as you’ve popped out the child, they whisk it away and you’re back on the line again. He saw that happen three times—twice to female omegas and once to a male.”

“That’s awful—they’d never do that with beta women.”

“Rarely, but they do exist. Beta women aren’t as easy to impregnate since they don’t have heats and their body environments are generally more hostile than an omegas.”

“I didn’t know they existed.”

“My mother was a beta in one, or so I was told. I presented as an omega and on my way to an omega house during a transfer, me for a beta woman, I knocked out the guard and made a run for it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Tsukishima dropped his chin to his knees and stared down at the clear water. “What about the other one?”

“Hinata?” Suga leaned back. “His mother tried to hide him, but the omega hunters caught whiff of him and had him listed for sale on the black market. On the day of his purchase, the truck they were being transported in crashed and he was one of the few to make it out alive. If you see the burn scar across his back, don’t mention it, he’s sensitive about it.”

“Understood.”

“Okay, I think we’ve soaked enough. Got to let everyone else use the bathroom too.” Kōshi stood up and pulled the blond with him. “Let’s get you in some dry clothes and then we’ll find a futon for you to sleep in tonight. We all share a bedroom—hope you don’t mind.”

Tsukishima shook his head and followed the older omega’s lead—at least, he assumed the omega was older than him.

“How old are you?”

“Eighteen, you would’ve just turned sixteen, right?”

“How’d you know?”

“Everyone presents shortly after their sixteenth birthday—betas don’t of course, so if you grow up in a beta family you’d never know.” He shrugged. “I’m the oldest of the omegas here, but Saeko is the oldest overall. Tanaka is a year younger than me.”

“Am I the youngest?”

“Hinata is close to you in age, he presented back in June, but he’s only been with us for a little over a month.” Suga took his hand once they were dressed. “Time to properly introduce you to our little family.”

* * *

At university, Akiteru ran into Saeko for the first time in the hallways. They made study plans under the pretense that the boy would be able to see his brother. Between classes, they would pass small items, including money, between each other that would help the other out with their respective needs. Akiteru found himself trying to smuggle better items from the house for his brother, like his old blankets and dinosaur toys, but what he could take without it being noticeable was becoming incredibly difficult.

His father was under the impression that Akiteru took him to an omega house in opposition to his desire to sell his brother—as such his allowance was halved to pay for the cost of stealing away a source of income. His mother was also distraught and wanted to leave the omegas room as it was instead of stripping it down and getting rid of it like most families with omega children did.

Yamaguchi came over to their house and asked about what happened to his best friend. The hardest thing he ever had to do was lie straight to the young man’s face about what happened to his little brother. He walked away with his shoulders hung low and Akiteru wanted to tell him that Kei was okay and living with other omega in safety.

When he visited his brother the next day, under the premise of a study session with Saeko, he held his brother for a long time in a warm hug. The omega didn’t try to push him away—he sensed that his brother needed a little comfort.

A week later he asked about Yamaguchi and Akiteru admitted what he did. The blond remained quiet because he wanted his best friend to know, but he also wanted to remain safe in the Tanaka household.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got distracted writing other fics and forgot to work on this one... whoops! On the plus side, a couple of those fics are spin offs to this one.

“Kei,” Akiteru tumbled through the door into the omega shelter and immediately pulled his brother into a hug.

“What is it?” The blond’s brows pushed together.

“It’s—” he paused. “Yamaguchi presented as an omega. I couldn’t get to him in time.”

“What happened to him?”

“I’m not sure, but I was told that his dad had some unknown debt to the Yakuza and they came to collect.”

“No,” Kei’s eyes went wide. “No, not Yamaguchi.”

“I’m sorry—I’m so sorry.”

The omega turned and ran for the bathroom, bile burned the back of his throat.

* * *

Three years living in the Tanaka household with the other omega’s didn’t change Tsukishima much, but he was increasingly grateful for the safety they all had provided the news that they caught glimpses of the outside world. Omega hunters in particular were becoming more aggressive with their tactics and omega houses were praised higher and higher by the media by taking in and caring for many omegas. No one in bothered to wonder why there were so many in the houses or why children were born in the houses every year at an alarming rate alongside omega suicide deaths. Kei curled his toes and tried to concentrate on the text clutched between his lithe fingers. It wasn’t any use.

“Tsukishima,” Hinata Shōyō leapt onto the blond’s back, “are you going to play cards with us?”

“Mmm, I was just going to finish this chapter.” Kei folded his bookmark into the light novel in his hands and closed it.

“Suga-san is getting snacks from the kitchen.”

When they entered the main living space, Suga was on his way back down the steps with empty hands.

“Where’s the food?” Tanaka looked up from his shuffling.

“Saeko-san has visitors I don’t recognize. I couldn’t go out there carelessly.”

“Do we need to treat this as a code orange?” Nishinoya tensed up and immediately grabbed at the pillows.

“That would be for the best in case it turns into something worse.”

They all nodded and immediately headed off to their respective rooms. Living in hiding meant they had to have codes for situations that might end up disastrous for them. Code orange meant they needed to pack up their belongings and make it look like no one used the space. Then they were to send their fastest runner, Hinata, up to the top of the stairs to look for a piece of paper that was colored to see if the situation escalated or resolved. They had their bedding neatly folded in a backpack as well as their few games and rations. Back in the main room, they watched Hinata slowly climb the stairs as to not make any noise.

When he reached the top, he could hear the older woman talking to the guests.

“I like to keep my beers in the closet because it’s cooler in there.” Saeko’s voice was muffled through the wall. “I have them in a cooler of course. Do you have any preferences?”

The reply garbled, Hinata waited for the paper that would decide their fate. He heard the closet door open and some rustling before the corner of a sheath breached the bottom. He only saw a sliver of the black paper before he was back down the stairs.

“Code black,” he reported. The omega moved as a singular unit to the emergency underground bunker exit that would carry them via tunnel out of the range of the house.

They opened the grate on the floor and Tsukishima, as the last through, closed it back behind them. They took the ladder in even steps and when they reached the bunker, they looked around for what they could easily grab. Suga, Tanaka, and Tsukishima decided to grab a useful weapon from the small list of options. Nishinoya took a seat on the edge of one of the beds and reorganized the things in his backpack to fit more rations for the coming days. They most likely would not be able to return to their safe haven. Tsukishima and Suga followed after Noya’s lead once they had their weapons concealed on their body. The others helped load a few things into Hinata’s pack, including a scent neutralizer in case any of them went into heat.

Once they were ready, they pushed open the door to the tunnel and found that it was rudimentary. Support beams held up the flimsy dirt and rock mix walls and ceilings; when they walked, the ground moved under their feet. The entrance to the house faded away behind them and instead the sounds of the world above echoed around the halls. A train passed overhead and dirt rained down on their shoulders.

The group walked for about a day, according to Tanaka’s watch, before they reached the surface. The light blinded their eyes and they stumbled into the shadow of an alleyway to adjust. The streets in front of them were alive with alpha and beta workmen and women going about their normal day to day activities. They tread carefully as a group on the sidewalk and kept an eye out for a plausible shelter. Night was only a couple hours away and they’d also need food.

“Omegas,” someone nearby whispered.

“I wonder if they’re a part of the same omega house field trip we saw earlier?”

“It’s nice that they allow them out once in a while to explore the world, but a couple of them smell absolutely divine. The house should do something about protecting them from alphas on the street.”

“I agree. Those ones earlier too, they looked a little more ragged compared to these ones. I wonder if it was a house with less funding?”

“Omega houses don’t have field trips.” Nishinoya said just loud enough for their group to hear. “It would be counterproductive to the service they provide.”

“We should try and locate those other omegas. They could be on the run like us and know their way around the city.” Suga agreed.

They moved in a group until they found a rather large alleyway with doors lining it to the upper apartments and various buildings. They were surprised by the lack of people frequenting the area and decided it would be a good place to check. At the end of the alley, Hinata found a door hidden behind a large trash can for a restaurant that read “UNDERGROUND MAINTENANCE” on it in bold letters. They tried the handle and were surprised to find it unlocked. They crept through the skinny space created by the open door before they were plunged into the dark. A flickering light echoed up the staircase in front of them from something down at the bottom and they stepped toward it in measured steps. They listened for breathing and talking to identify what the area was. There had to be a reason why a maintenance door would be hidden behind a trash can.

At the bottom of the steps, they found a communal living area. The office space for maintenance was converted into a miniature heat and hospital room, they could smell the pheromones, and the rest of the space was filled with tents. A fire in the middle of the room lit it up and showed a mostly finished wall leading out to a darker tunnel on the other side. Moments later when a train whizzed past the crack and shot freezing cold air through the crack, they realized that the maintenance tunnel was supposed to be for the subway, but was converted into a shelter—most likely illegally. A small blond omega walked through a gap in the tents and screamed when she saw them standing at the entrance.

“Yachi, what is it?” Several more omega ran out into their line of sight and they held up makeshift weapons at the intruders.

“Who are you, and how did you find us?” The tallest omega stepped forward and they realized that he was the leader. A nasty scar ran down from the man’s left temple to his jawline and his brown eyes were hardened. He had his arms folded and when he flipped his hair, the softly curled, brunet strands caught the firelight and glittered gold.

“We’re omegas like you. We’re on the run after our caretaker gave us the signal to run after they were found out. We’ve been in hiding at their house for several years.” Suga didn’t give out specifics, but it was enough to make the omegas gaze soften.

“How do we know that you aren’t working for some alphas or betas that have promised you freedom if you find us and sell our location out to the omega hunters?”

“We don’t have any kind of guarantee.” Kōshi shrugged. “We all came from different places, but one thing we know is that the omega house isn’t an option and we can’t return home. We’ll help find food and finish building the wall over there. You just have to trust us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who do you think it is? What could've made that scar? All to be revealed next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

“Trust you? You have a lot of misplaced confidence. I can’t say I trust you farther than I can throw you. You found a hidden door that was erased from public and governmental access files.” The air around them grew thick and heavy—it smelled like an alpha. The omegas cowered under the smell and Hinata had to put his hand over his mouth.

“It wasn’t hard for the shorter ones to find. We were looking for a place to camp out for the night.” Tanaka argued and receiving matching glares from Hinata and Nishinoya.

“It was tight getting the door open without moving the trash can though.” Tsukishima muttered under his breath.

“What’s an alpha doing protecting a bunch of omegas in some hidden underground?” Hinata coughed to try and get rid of some of the pheromones clogging his throat.

“I’m not an alpha, I’m an omega.” The leader’s face went a little hard.

“But the smell—”

“Yeah, it’s called the ‘Omega Paradox’ made me very popular in the omega house. Some primitive bullshit that makes me smell like an alpha to protect me from being taken from my pack. Though we can see how that worked out in the end.”

“Who are you?” Nishinoya narrowed his eyes, the smell and the paradox were oddly familiar.

“Oikawa Tōru, Omega House survivor and the leader of the Underground.” The handsome omega put out his hand.

“I know you.” Yū blinked up at him in surprise. “You’re one of the omegas that gave birth while I was at the Omega House—they took your baby away from you.”

Oikawa was silent for a long moment. “I still don’t know how to feel about that child, so I’d appreciate it if you don’t mention it while you’re staying here with us.”

“Of course, we understand.” Suga took the man’s outstretched hand. “No more talk of pups.”

“Thank you.” Oikawa cleared his throat. “I suppose I can let you all stay if you help in keeping us all alive. We need food and water and materials to patch up the rest of that hole in the wall. When I first got here it was wide open, and every time we heard a train rattle past, we had to run and hide in the offices.”

“How did you hide the existence of this place from the people that always ride the train?”

“We boarded up the windows, as part of the protection for when we’re in heat as well, and put up fake out of service signs that we found from restrooms or other places in the aboveground world. Eventually we built the wall sealing it up high enough, hiding it behind layers of construction tape, and were able to finally put up our tents in the main area and light fires at night. They look like the old flickering automatic lights through the hole that remains.”

“You’re quite clever.” Kōshi complimented with a bright smile. “We’ll all be happy to help in any way that we can. We appreciate your willingness to let us join your pack.”

“The more omegas that arrive here, the more we realize how off the above ground world is. To us, the only true world that exists is this underground.” Another omega spoke up. He was tall and lithe and his light brown hair was pasted to this forehead. “Yahaba Shigeru.”

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“So, who are all of you?” Oikawa led them through the circles of tents.

“I’m Sugawara Kōshi, up until earlier today we were with Tanaka Ryūnosuke’s sister,” he pointed at the members of his group, “then there’s Nishinoya Yū, Hinata Shōyō, and Tsukishima Kei.”

“Are any of you good at anything?”

“What do you mean?” Hinata bounced on the balls of his feet and adjusted his backpack.

“What skills do you have? Cooking? Foraging? Sneaking? Those kinds of things.”

“Noya is good at sneaking. He could always get past my older sister for whatever he wanted from the kitchen.” Tanaka volunteered.

“Suga-san is a wonderful cook.” Hinata pitched in. “I can jump really high so I’m good at escaping places.”

“I like to craft things.” Tsukishima whispered. “I’m really good with my hands.”

“Tanaka is crazy strong,” Yū pitched in, “it’s awesome when he lifts all the crazy stuff back home.”

“Those are all wonderful skills that we can put to use. It’ll be wonderful to have a few more hands around here—there’s a few little ones. Newly presented or children of rape so we tend to put priority on them.”

“That’s understandable.” Sugawara nodded along. “Let us know where we can set up our beds and then we’ll help you wherever you need.”

“We don’t currently have a tent for you to sleep in, but you can set your beds up in the lanes between them and close to the fire if need be. Choose a spot and go for it.” Oikawa pointed out specific areas in the main ring. “We’ll work on finding you some jobs to help around here. We don’t have any omegas staying in the heat room currently, but we might in the next few days. We’ll need to add your heat schedules to our calendar too.”

“What happens if there’s more than two omegas in heat at the same time?”

“We’ll double up on rooms, have smaller nests—sometimes a communal one if it’s with people you know well. Since male omegas are sterile through their testicles, we don’t have danger of getting each other pregnant, so we’ll help each out from time to time if needed.” Tōru folded his hands behind him. “Of course, that’s assuming that you know we’re sterile that way.”

“Yes, we’re aware.” Suga grabbed Hinata’s hand to keep him quiet. “We’ll setup our beds and then help with dinner. Let us know if we’re in the way.”

“I’m sure we will.”

The omegas waltzed off and left the group of five alone by the fire. They quickly unrolled their bedding material and made a group nest for them. It was a bit small, but they planned to snuggle close as it was to keep them sane from the new introduction of scents. They also weren’t used to an alpha scent—even if it did come from an omega.

“I didn’t know that we’re sterile.” Hinata whispered lowly into Sugawara’s ear.

“Only through our penis—we aren’t like beta men. We are meant to give birth, not create life. It’s a weird topic to bring up under normal circumstances.”

“It’s kind of sad that I can’t even be with a beta woman if an alpha didn’t work out.” Hinata sat cross-legged in the communal nest and stared down at his hands.

“The world is the worse for the wear on omegas.” Tsukishima leaned back and stretched out his lithe body across the blankets. “At least you have us if the right alpha never comes along.”

“How would we even find an alpha in a place like this?” Nishinoya pressed himself into Hinata’s side and pulled them down into a comfortable napping position.

“Who knows.” Tanaka yawned. “We need to figure out what they’re doing for dinner before we fall asleep.”

“Let’s have our own private dinner tonight, then tomorrow we can start fresh.” Suga reached into their packs and pulled out the easily prepared dried foods stored for their escape. “Itadakimasu.”

* * *

“Ne, Tsukishima,” Hinata whispered from under the covers of their group nest. The blond turned bleary eyes on the blob of red hair that stuck out from under the blanket. He couldn’t tell much detail or see where the omega’s eyes were amongst the colors.

“What?”

“Earlier Oikawa said something about us being sterile, so we take care of each other—does that mean sex?”

“Most likely,” the taller omega stretched out and pulled his arm from under Tanaka’s. “I can’t imagine that it’d be that great. When I was younger, I saw one of my brother’s biology books from high school and there was more than just a sterile difference between the sub-genders. Alpha’s have these knots like animals that swell and link them with the omega because it raises the chance of pregnancy. Beta’s don’t have that—they can fluctuate in size for dicks, but Alpha’s are generally pretty large and Omega’s are small. There’s some other stuff, like Alpha women grow a dick like a male Omega grows a womb—Beta women are just like Omega women, minus heat and excess slick production. That was all I could really get out of it though before nii-san took the book away from me. I just don’t think that sex with an omega would ever feel the same as an alpha—which is why Saeko-san got us toys to use.”

“What if it makes our heat shorter though?”

“I don’t really mind my heat. I don’t necessarily like how it takes over and I’m not fully aware of what’s going on around me—but the thought of someone I like and I being entrapped in pheromones isn’t the worst thought in the world. The problem is that it’s almost impossible to find an alpha like that. If you find an alpha at all—there’s not a dating service for us considering omega houses are supposed to be in the thing that gets us a mate.”

“You do get mates from omega houses, sometimes.” Nishinoya rolled over to curl himself around Hinata. “If you come from good breeding stock, alpha’s will buy you before your first or second heat so that you aren’t tainted by being on the floor. Once you hit the main floor though, you’re a breeder and no matter how good of a fuck you are, you don’t get bought. Unknowns like me that come in from the outside end up as breeder’s ninety-nine percent of the time.”

“And then there’s the ones that kidnap omegas and send them to the black market.” Shōyō whispered harshly. “We get sold by everyone to someone we don’t know and then get forced to bear children.”

“That’s the reality of being an omega.” Tsukishima rolled onto his back to look up at the ceiling. “If we can’t have an alpha through meaningful connection, it’s better to stay alone for the rest of my life.”

“Hey, don’t be such a downer, Tsukishima,” Noya kicked him softly in the side. “You’ll be with us for the rest of your life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so now we have Oikawa and a handful of others. Don't worry, a interconnecting story focusing on Oikawa is in the works, I just keep getting distracted... Next chapter should have a nice surprise.


	5. Chapter 5

Kozume Kenma is asleep on _his_ couch and Kuroo Tetsurō felt like he should feel something for the omega, but he didn’t. His childhood best friend, a biological gender match to his own, and all he cared about was if the omega was safe and if he could find Kenma a proper mate. Kuroo kicked his shoes off in the genkan of his apartment and walked over to the couch. Kenma clutched a controller in his hands and his blond hair—the result of a terrible dye job to try and hide from omega hunters—was splayed out across one of the few decorative pillows Kuroo owned.

The alpha reached into his bag and pulled out the newest video game that the omega wanted and pushed it across the coffee table. He continued on into the kitchen and pulled a few things out of the fridge to make a semi-satisfactory dinner. Neither of them were particularly good at cooking and Kuroo often ordered out, but Kenma’s heat was a few days away and he wanted to put good calories in the omega’s body.

His neighbors knew Kenma existed—there was no way they couldn’t with the pheromones and the late-night conversations that filtered through the walls—but they assumed that the two were a pair and generally didn’t disturb them. It was better that way.

Omega hunters didn’t come for him, his family couldn’t sell him for money, he wouldn’t end up at the omega house—there were one-hundred fates for the omega and the only one Kuroo wanted to provide, was a safe and loving environment. None of his alpha coworkers were suited for that responsibility though. The first time he learned about the omega house, was from his father. He took him to an omega house to show him where his other parent was when he asked. His father didn’t know which omega was his parent and the sight of them being pressed into the mattress with a line of alpha’s waiting their turn made his stomach churn.

Tetsurō made the promise to never follow in his father’s footsteps, which was why he couldn’t condemn Kenma to the same fate even if he didn’t want the omega as his mate.

Kuroo set a pot of water to boil on the stove and pulled out his phone.

_To: Daichi, Iwaizumi, Asahi, Yamamoto, Lev, Kageyama, Ennoshita, Kai, Bokuto_

_Hey, Kenma’s heat is coming up in the next couple days, can I crash at one of your places for a week?_

He set his phone aside and started to fix the broth for a proper soba, a hardy calorie driven meal that would help provide the omega in his house with energy. He already had a case of water open and waiting in the omega’s room and half a nest was assembled on the floor.

_From: Yamamoto_

_Why don’t you just mate with him? It’d make his heat end sooner and then you’d have to stop hiding him and pretending._

Kuroo rolled his eyes. If Yamamoto wasn’t so loose with himself as an alpha, he’d be tempted to offer that _he_ take Kenma as his mate.

_To: Group_

_Fuck off_

_From: Daichi_

_My couch is open for you if you need it. Do you need anything ahead of time so Kenma is okay?_

_To: Group_

_We’ll be fine. I have water, he almost has his nest set up, tomorrow I’m bringing home granola bars and the like. I’ve got the three safety locks for the door already hanging in place._

_From: Iwaizumi_

_If Daichi gets bored of you, you can crash here too, though Hanamaki and Matsukawa might want to come over and bug you then. I’m glad you have everything in place._

_To: Group_

_I’ve done this a few times now, so I know what I’m getting myself into. wwww He’s sleeping on the couch right now._

_From: Kai_

_Iwaizumi, have you heard anything on your friend, yet?_

The response was long delayed and Kuroo swallowed thickly. No news was good news and bad news. It was seven long years since high school when Iwaizumi’s best friend presented as an omega. Before the alpha had a chance to say anything to his family, they sold him off for money to an omega house. Kuroo jumped in with what he knew about the houses and they tried to find the teenager, but they never had. They still looked, checking a new house every month or so for any records of an omega with the omega paradox from Miyagi.

_From: Iwaizumi_

_No._

The one-word answer said more than enough. The man on the other end of the phone was most likely choking up as Kuroo wrote out a message of support and asked where he could look. Every time they brought up the missing omega, the alpha would fight back tears. It was clear to all of them that they were close enough to be almost lovers—had things gone a little differently seven years prior. Had the two of them ended up like Matsukawa and Hanamaki.

_To: Group_

_I think I’ll take you up on that offer Iwaizumi, split my time between two awesome best friends. The rest of you can go suck it._

_From: Bokuto_

_No, I literally just saw your message. I was at work, bro. Why would you do me like this?_

_To: Group_

_You snooze, you lose, bro. I have other brethren now._

_From: Ennoshita_

_As much as I love you, Kuroo, I hate you all right now. I’m trying to sleep, night shift at work. Putting you on mute BTW_

_To: Group_

_Sorry Ennoshita, have fun at work!_

Kuroo put his phone away and focused on finishing their dinner. When he had it on the table, he looked at his phone again and found several messages from Lev and a soft denial from Asahi. He was apparently doing some underground work for Ukai that week and would be out of commission.

Tetsurō thanked them for the messages before he walked into the living room and shook the omega awake. He stared up with bleary eyes and pressed a few buttons on the controller before he joined the alpha for dinner.

“Thank you for taking care of me.”

“It’s no problem. We’ve been friends since we were kids. I’d hate for you to be somewhere with less protection and freedom.”

“Don’t you ever think of claiming me when I’m in heat?”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t,” Kuroo chewed his noodles slowly. “When you’re full blown in heat and I catch a whiff of it, it piques the interest of the alpha side, but my rational side knows that if we both did anything about it, we’d regret it. We’ll find someone right for the both of us in time.”

“What if I don’t want an alpha that’s perfect?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t mind a lot of the omega staying at home stuff. I mean, I’m not fond of kids, but I haven’t been around them a lot and so if it’ll make an alpha happy, then I’m fine with it. I don’t want to be in an omega house, I know that, but I also don’t want the most cautious ideal alpha out there who only wants me to have my freedom to be me.”

“I didn’t know.” Kuroo stared at his plate.

“Well, you were always looking for an ideal alpha similar to you for me—but like you already pointed out, we’re not good for each other. Finding another alpha like you won’t give me what I want.”

“I’ll update my search accordingly.”

“One of your friends already fits the ticket on what I wouldn’t mind.”

“Who?” Kuroo perked up and watch the omega finish off his plate of soba.

“Yamamoto.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we get to see a little bit from Kuroo's side. I promise the IwaOi one is still coming, I just got distracted by writing scenes for later in the IwaOi story instead of the earlier ones...


	6. Chapter 6

“What the fuck.” Kuroo stared at his dinner with wide eyes.

“He’s a traditionalist, but he’s also nice. I don’t mind all the traditional omega stuff. Except for living in an omega house or underground. I wouldn’t have minded if my parents arranged a marriage for me. I don’t care about that stuff, so Yamamoto would be an easy mate to get along with.”

“You want to be in a mated relationship with Yamamoto, the least romantic person out of our entire group?”

“Yeah. I could have a proper home where I’m not hiding all the time and it’ll free up your apartment for an omega that you find from—well who knows where.”

“I’ll—I’ll talk to Yamamoto about it then. Though I expect him to court you.”

Kenma sighed. “You would.”

* * *

Two days later, Kuroo found himself at Daichi’s house with his friends and that included Yamamoto. Kenma’s heat was in full swing. As was procedure, he locked the door from the inside, then slid out through Kenma’s window and watched the omega lock it behind him while he was still coherent. Kuroo then used the fire escape to leave the apartment in solitude.

The group of alphas decided it was a good night to drink a little booze and shoot the bull.

“Kenma confessed something to me a couple days ago.” Tetsurō was in a typical manspreading position on a single arm rest. He was so far down on the seat that it couldn’t be healthy for his posture and he held a beer bottle over his crotch.

“Did he confess that he likes you? You look disturbed.” Iwaizumi took a seat on the long couch next to Ennoshita.

“No, he doesn’t like me that way, but he likes someone else that way.”

“How?” Daichi asked. “Omegas don’t leave the house and meet people like betas do.”

“That’s the thing, he likes someone he already knows.”

“He doesn’t know that many people. You’re gonna have to give us more information.” Ennoshita said.

“Yamamoto. He likes Yamamoto.”

“Really?” Taketora burst out of the kitchen. “Do you want me to go help him through his heat?”

“No! You’re going to court him, properly. Like they used to do in the books we read in school.”

“Dude, I don’t wanna have to go through that shit. I could literally go to an omega house and buy one.”

“You don’t have enough money to do that.” Kai rolled his eyes. “I think it’s a great idea if you put in a little work for the omega. I’m sure Kenma was fine with your way of doing things anyway.”

“Did he request that I court him?” Yamamoto turned to Kuroo.

“No, it was my enforced rule. I’m his caretaker, if you don’t want to play by my rules, you don’t get to have him and he doesn’t get to have you.”

“Damn.” The room was quiet for a while. “Do you think he’s thinking about me while pushing a toy in his ass?”

“Okay, that’s the last thing I wanna hear about this all night.” Matsukawa put his foot down. “We are going to watch a movie and drink the night away then get some sleep.”

“At least yours will be next to an omega.” Taketora bemoaned.

“I’m getting the duct tape.” Daichi pushed himself up. “He’ll be the only sober one tonight.”

“Thank fuck.” Iwaizumi leaned back on the couch. “I need a good clean start for tomorrow.”

* * *

Kuroo woke up with a pounding headache the next morning and he found himself in a miserable line for a turn to the use Daichi’s bathroom. Yamamoto was at least kind enough to fix them a pot of coffee to help once they were done worshipping the god of the bathroom. The alpha reluctantly agreed to the terms Kuroo put forth on getting close to Kenma—especially since it would be the only way he’d get close to a mate anytime soon. Omegas from the omega houses were too expensive for any of them to afford.

“What is everyone going to do today?” Daichi asked when he placed a large dish of tamagoyaki on the table in the middle.

“I am going to go home and try and get some more sleep and get rid of the hangover.” Ennoshita yawned. “I’ve got work again tonight. These graveyard shifts are killing me.”

“At least you get to see naked women every night.”

“Oh yeah, bouncer for a beta strip club is really the dream job.” Ennoshita rolled his eyes. “Betas don’t have a smell, it’s nice, but it doesn’t feel right.”

“Plus, the don’t like being knotted.” Taketora provided to the surprise of the group. “I hired a hooker once from the red-light district—”

“Alright, we all know that tomorrow we’ll be having Yamamoto’s funeral. What about everyone else’s day?” Kai placed his hand over the younger man’s mouth.

“I have the day off. I’m thinking of going to Ukai’s. He’s working on putting in an expansion and I want to help if he needs it. Takeda’s pregnant now, you know, only a couple months along, but they’ve got that to worry about on top of the Sanctuary.” Kuroo finished off his plate and licked his lips. “I also have a donation to drop off. He’s looking into places to get another shipment of omegas from once the expansion is complete.”

“I’ll go with you and help out a little.” Daichi volunteered. “Maybe I can help Takeda with the research on where to get a big shipment of omegas.”

“You are strangely good at uncovering them.” Iwaizumi agreed. “I’ll go with you guys and lend a hand. The sooner we get the expansion done, the sooner we can get some more omegas out of dangerous situations.”

“Fantastic idea.” Matsukawa stood and walked to the kitchen with his plate. “I’d go with you, but I’ve got to get back home to Takahiro. His heat’s coming soon.”

“Go have fun with your mate.” Kai wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“How come he gets a slide on talking about sex?” Yamamoto whined.

“Because he isn’t nearly as crude as you.”

* * *

“Ittetsu, we have visitors.” Ukai Keishin called out into the large courtyard of the Sanctuary. A man with short black hair and glasses looked up from his place on a porch teaching and omega about handcrafting pottery pieces they could sell.

“Are they coming into the yard?”

“Yeah, they’re helping with the expansion.”

Takeda Ittetsu turned back to his omega companion. Several of the others had already jumped up and ran back to their rooms. “Will you be okay?”

“If you stay next to me.” The omega whispered shyly. He was a young presenter named Kunimi who Takeda found on the street after he presented and brought back to the Sanctuary.

“It’s safe to come out.” Ukai waved the three alphas forward from the porch and led them over to the construction site. Most of the framework was already complete and some of the walls were ready for paneling, insulation, and sheetrock.

“Thank you for your help, gentlemen!” The mated omega called over to them.

“It’s no problem. We’re glad to be of service.” Daichi bowed before he took control of the group and sent the on their way. Iwaizumi was set to finish the framework on the last house and Daichi and Kuroo would start with the paneling. They’d panel the roof first for shingles before the lower walls. Otherwise they wouldn’t be protected from the weather.

The alphas worked until sundown, long after Kunimi retired to his own room. The omegas comfortable around alphas milled around the yard and watched them work from time to time. Takeda held the bucket of screws and provided the alphas with tools as they needed them once he was freed from caring for the timider omegas.

“We made good progress today.” He complimented as they headed back to the main house.

“We did.” Kuroo agreed. “There’s nothing quite like physical work to make you feel accomplished.”

“You three should stay for dinner.” Ukai offered. He shirked his headband for the night and his two toned black and blond hair fell around his face in a soft pattern. He had a cigarette between his lips which Takeda stole from him.

“I’ve told you, no more smoking. We have a pup on the way, you’re going to hurt them.”

“I’m sorry,” the alpha fell to his knees and pressed a warm kiss to Takeda’s stomach. “You daddy is trying, I swear. I’ll do better tomorrow.”

The unmated alphas looked away from the tender display. The two were only broken by a soft cough from Daichi.

“Dinner would be great, if you don’t mind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yamamoto needs to be stopped.


	7. Chapter 7

Life moved easily in the underground. The omegas spent their days finding materials laying around on abandoned construction sites that they could use to finish the wall between their group and the train track. They also went through dumpsters for food that was still good and only a couple days expired, so it was thrown off the shelf by markets.

Within a couple months they had enough supplies to finish sealing off the hole in the wall between them and the train. They couldn’t sleep for the fist several weeks. The increase of silent put their entire community on edge.

Hinata found a pot without a handle in the garbage of a home that was still usable and brought it back. The omegas clamored over the find—it was better than heating up canned food still in the can. They celebrated that night with a large pot of homemade soup. They used old empty cans as their bowls. That night, they slept with fuller stomachs still curled in their communal nest.

When Suga’s heat set in, Oikawa sent Tsukishima and Hinata out on a top-secret mission to find something that would help him through his heat—since he didn’t want any of the other omegas to spend it with him. They wore the largest hoodies they could find from the dumpster of a donation service and pulled the hood up to hide their faces. They hoped the smell of the clothing would help disguise them as well since it was dangerous to wander on the street alone.

They walked with their heads down and only stopped to glance in the windows of shops that they thought might hold something they could get to help Suga. One particular window caught Tsukishima’s eye, but Hinata kept walking. He heard the surprised noise the shorter omega made as he collided with the back of an alpha a little taller than Tsukishima. The blond rushed over and pulled Hinata back into him. The alpha had turned to face them with a surprised look. He had messy black hair that stuck up with a portion that fell over the right side of his face.

“Are you okay?” His hazel eyes bored into them and Kei dropped his gaze without thinking. Another man behind him perked up and looked around to see the commotion. He had wild black and gray hair that stuck straight up off his head.

“We’re fine. I apologize for my friend crashing into you.” He bowed and pulled Hinata into a similar position next to him.

“It’s no trouble.” The alpha’s hand flew up to the back of his neck. “What are you guys doing out in the street?”

“What do you mean?” Tsukishima tried not to take a hesitant step back, but he pulled Hinata a little closer to him. “Are we not allowed to go shopping?”

“It’s not that,” he lowered his voice. “It’s that you’re omegas without a mated scent. It’s dangerous to wander around.”

“We’re on a fieldtrip.” Kei’s brain supplied from the months before when they first escaped the Tanaka household. “From the omega house. We’re heading back soon.”

The alpha’s brows furrowed. “Omega houses don’t have field trips.”

“Ours does.” The blond tightened his hold on Hinata and pulled them several steps away. “If you’ll please excuse us, we have some shopping to finish up before we go back.”

“Hold on.” The alpha followed them, his friend right behind him. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m worried about your safety. I can smell someone else’s heat on you—you’re trying to get something for your packmate, right?”

The two nodded softly. If they were cornered by the two alphas, no one would bat an eyelid. They couldn’t run either and risk getting separated. It was the best course of action to play along with the alpha’s whims until they could find a chance to escape safely.

“I’ll buy you what you need. Come on.” He gestured to the small sex shop that Tsukishima had stopped in front of earlier. “Bo, guard the door.”

The other alpha nodded and placed himself in front of the shop with an intimidating aura. The other three stepped inside and the shopkeeper welcomed them softly from the back.

“Pick out anything you want.” The alpha encouraged.

The two omegas browsed the shop at each other’s side and collected a few things that they thought might come in handy in their arms. When they collected their things, they headed back to Kuroo who nodded softly and told them to follow his lead.

The omegas put their collection on the counter and the checker looked at them in surprise.

“New collections.” The alpha told the woman and gestured for the omegas to step behind him.

“I see.” She smiled. “I hope you all enjoy your time together.”

“I’m sure we will.”

Once out of the shop and a little way down the street with the other alpha behind them, the taller man turned and handed them the sack.

“Is there somewhere I can walk you back to, just to make sure you’re safe?”

“No. This is enough for us.” Tsukishima held up the sack.

The alpha put his hands in his pockets. “I don’t feel comfortable letting two omegas wander around the streets alone.”

“We do it all the time.” Hinata mumbled.

“Bro,” the shorter alpha nodded to a display near where they were. It had simple hoodies on sale and the alpha tried to subtly point to the state of the omega’s clothing.

“That’s a good idea.”

The alpha rushed into the shop and was back out within a few moments with two large pull-over sweatshirts.

“Bo, you can scent one.” He tossed one of them to his friend. They quickly rubbed their wrist and neck glands against the fabric before they handed it over to the omegas. “The scent will deter other alphas from coming too close. It’ll keep you safe for a few weeks probably.”

“Why are you being so kind?”

“Because we have an inkling of what goes on with omegas that the rest of Japan doesn’t care about. Our friend had his best friend sold to an omega house and we help out at a shelter for omegas that are bought off the black market. We’ve heard some of their stories and they aren’t kind.”

“Thank you,” Kei took the sweatshirt from the alpha before he helped Hinata change out of the ragged one into the new scented one from the smaller alpha. He handed Shōyō the sack with their newly acquired toys and pulled off his own sweatshirt. He heard a surprised inhale from the taller alpha, and Tsukishima glanced at his surprised face. The blond quickly pulled the hoodie into place over his frame.

“Thank you, again.” Hinata bowed.

“It’s no trouble. Get back to your pack safe.”

Tsukishima nodded and held out his hand for the other omega. Together they departed down the street back to their underground hideout. When Tsukishima turned around before their departure back into the alleyway, the alphas were gone.

Hinata picked at the cloth of the new hoodie. “He smells nice, but it’s not the best smell. It was nice of them to buy us new hoodies.”

“Yeah.” Tsukishima buried his nose into the warm smell of juniper and a smile drifted to his face. He was going to keep the hoodie.

* * *

“You guys were life savers.” Suga leaned into his packmates after his heat was over. “How did you get that kind of stuff for me?”

“A couple of alphas.” Hinata admitted.

“What?”

“We met a couple of alphas on the street that recognized us as omegas and they bought us some stuff to help you. They didn’t do anything—didn’t follow us back and just let us go. It was really impressive.” Tsukishima pulled the hoodie from the alpha a little closer to him and pressed the fabric high enough to his face where he could catch a soft whiff of juniper.

“That is amazingly kind of them.” Kōshi stretched out across the blankets of their nest.

“They said that they knew what happened in omega houses and that they don’t like how omegas are treated. They felt like the kind of people that we’d want to be around if we had a choice in a mate.” Hinata smiled and curled into the older omega.

“Maybe in another world.” Suga agreed softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a little shorter this time, but... we had a new development and the next chapter brings a new plot point.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update? WHAT. I felt inspired today.

_One Year Later_

Three omegas sick at the same time wasn’t surprising to them. Ten omegas sick was more worrisome—especially since they couldn’t get any medicine. Fifteen of their pack sick led to three dead in the morning and that was when they got scared. They built medical designated tents and separated the sick omegas from the still healthy ones. The healthy ones spent countless hours caring for their packmates and holding wet rags to their foreheads in hopes that it would cool their fever.

With no place to store the dead omegas, their bodies were dragged out into the street at night where they were found by terrified passerby. The omegas watched from the shadows as the police collected their dead. The crying at night never stopped and after a while, they learned to sleep through the pitiful wails.

Four more were dead in the morning and several omegas from their individual cliques were left without their packmates. One such packmate approached Tsukishima’s group that night after the dead were carried into the street.

“Excuse me,” the male omega sat down outside the edge of their nest. He had sorrowful eyes and curly black hair. “My name is Akaashi Keiji—my packmates—they’re—we carried them out. Can I stay with you tonight?”

“Of course.” Suga agreed immediately. Tanaka leaned over and whispered softly about the illness carrying to them, but the older omega waved him off. “We have just as much chance getting sick from him as we do when tending to the sickly ones every day. The man just lost his pack. My name is Sugawara Kōshi, but my friends usually call me Suga.”

“Thank you for letting me sleep with you.” Akaashi cautiously breeched the edges of the nest.

“I only hope it doesn’t spread to the children.” Tanaka looked across the open campsite to the nest made for the children of the omegas. Ones raised in a life of hiding because their parent ran away after they were pregnant.

Hinata pushed his way out of the pile of omegas and over to the new omega’s side. “I’m Hinata Shōyō. Do you want to scent?”

“Oh—um—” Akaashi stuttered into an improper answer.

“I thought it might make you feel better.”

“That is a good idea, thank you.” Akaashi sunk down into the blankets and the two nuzzled each other’s wrists before they moved to the scent glands on each other’s neck.

“You’re part of our pack now.” The small omega declared.

Keiji managed to spare the omega a smile, but the sadness in his eyes took over.

“What were their names?”

“Konoha Akinori and Suzumeda Kaori.” Akaashi swallowed hard. “They were the best kind of people.”

“I’m sure they were.” Nishinoya pulled him further into the nest. “How long did you know them?”

“Middle school. I presented early, around the same time they did and we all went on the run together. Oikawa found us and took us in—but now I’m the last one alive.” He swallowed. “Would it be better if we all died of this illness?”

“Perhaps,” Tsukishima replied softly, “but, there are children that need us and we can still hold out hope that one day we can live on the surface again. If we’re given that chance, I’m sure Konoha-san and Suzumeda-san will be glad that you lived to experience it.”

“That’s kind of you to say.” Akaashi’s eyes drifted closed. “What was your name?”

“Tsukishima Kei.”

* * *

“Another four bodies of unidentified omegas were found in the street near the same place the last three were found. There is no suspicious activity in the area and the omegas don’t appear to show signs of ill intent from beta or alpha influence. Recent autopsy results from the surprise deaths of the previous three omegas shows that they may have passed away from an illness. Similar results are expected of the newest bodies. If anyone has any information regarding the deceased, they are asked to cooperate with local police in the Tokyo area.” Kuroo read out from the news app on his phone.

“Seven in only a few days?” Daichi used a spatula to stir their bachelor night dinner.

“Seven.”

“Are there pictures of the omegas?”

“Yes, actually. They looked cleaned up and not sickly, but there are faces.”

“Can I see them?” Iwaizumi took a seat on the couch next to him. Kuroo handed over his phone.

“Recognize any faces?”

“No.” He let out a relieved sigh. “I can still hold out hope.”

“I think I know this area.” Kuroo’s brows furrowed together as he took the phone back and flipped through pictures of the police crime scene after the bodies were reported.

“Tokyo’s fairly big.” Daichi shrugged.

“But, in the background is that—hold on. This is the same area where I bought those sext toys for a couple omegas.”

“You did what now?” Ennoshita looked up from where he was faithfully creating fancy seating arrangements around the dining table.

“Around a year ago there were a couple unmated omegas that bumped into me when I was out with Bo. They were trying to get some toys for a packmate that was in heat, but they didn’t want me or Bo to walk them back to wherever they were from.”

“You bought them sex toys?”

“Well—yeah. I told you about this a year ago. They needed stuff to help them since they’re in hiding. They were terrified of us and had some dumb ass story about being on an omega house field trip.”

“What if it’s the same group?” Asahi suggested quietly from his spot in Daichi’s large lay-z-boy.

“Huh?”

“What if these people are from the same group of omegas. All of them hiding out somewhere and they’re getting sick. They probably don’t have a way of disposing of their dead, so they put them out on the street where they can be found. As morbid as it is.”

“You think there’s an omega colony nearby?”

“It wouldn’t surprise me.” Daichi agreed. “Thinking about it—if that many dead omegas are showing up, there has to be a colony nearby.”

“Then—foreseeably, we could find them.” Kuroo suggested.

“Possibly, but there’s another problem. We don’t know how many there are. There’s no way we could give all of them a safe place to live—let alone would they trust us.”

“But Ukai has that sanctuary.” Ennoshita suggested.

“They just added on an expansion—but they can’t take on that many omegas. Speculating and thinking, this colony could have anywhere between one to a hundred omegas.”

“A colony that is down seven people and possibly more. The bodies always appear in the dead of the night—which means they can’t bring them out during the day.” Kuroo nodded. “It sucks that we can’t attempt to find them.”

“We could leave out medicine and gifts in the vicinity.” Ennoshita suggested softly.

“We’ll do that first thing tomorrow morning.” Daichi agreed. “Dinner is ready.”

* * *

“Omega hunters are on to us.” Oikawa announced that night after they had dragged out another five bodies. “They’re swirling around the area during the day and night. We need to start thinking about an escape plan.”

“Break down the wall.” Tanaka piped up.

“What?”

“If we break open a hole in the wall again, if the omega hunters find us—then we can escape out of the hole in the wall. We just need to find flashlights—which we have several on hand. We can avoid the trains and come out at one of the other stops.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” One of the omegas from the other group piped up. “We can move the sick tent closer to the wall so we can take them with us and evacuate the children first.”

The faces of the group were resolved to stay on the run and Oikawa nodded along with their discussion. “Okay—we’ll start demolition on a segment of the wall. Just large enough for us to escape through.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try and do an update schedule. If it doesn't work, then I'll update as I have chapters available. Some fics of mine, such as _Moon and Night_ , _Rebel_ , and _Damn Pinch Server_ are already part of the random updates. If I finish their prequels, then they'll take that upload space.
> 
> Sunday: _The Last Seven Years_  
>  Tuesday: _Fuck You_  
>  Thursday: _Omega_  
>  Saturday: _Youngblood_ COMING SOON (It's a Yakuza AU)

In the morning they found a sack of medicine hidden near the garbage can with a note that read:

_From those wishing a swift recovery._

It was brought back and inspected. Since none of the factory seals were broken, the omegas decided to trust the medicine and delivered it religiously to their sick.

Most of the omegas were healthier by the time they finished breaking a hole into the wall for their escape. Suga, Hinata, Tsukishima, and Tanaka were sent as scouts for which way they should head in case of evacuation. They spilt into teams of two and used their flashlight supply to explore the tunnels. They had to listen closely for trains and they luckily found small alcoves from when the track was installed where they could stand and wait for the train to pass by.

Oikawa found a couple repurposed stopwatches that they used to record their time until they found a viable exit. Tsukishima and Hinata found a station platform that had a service entrance they could use to access it. The main problem was that it teemed with people and most likely wouldn’t be safe to exit through. Suga and Tanaka turned up with another area similar to their own, except it was a used one. Most of the operators were beta and if they needed to hide, there was an alcove across the way that led down into the sewers. They would be able to hide in the sewers until the workers went home for the night.

The omegas decided that the sewer option was the better of the two and they had a time frame for how long it would take to walk to the location. The sick omegas were to a point where they could at least walk, but if they had to run, they’d be caught.

With the increased swarm in alphas and no new deliveries of medicine, they started to move the sick omegas into the tunnel. Once they were well enough, they returned to the camp, but most of them stayed in a side maintenance alcove where the train track flip switch was stationed.

The sick tent was disassembled and all the other tents were moved closer to the exit point. Nests became smaller and several groups of the omegas voted to abandon the group sooner than later because the swarm of omega hunters in the area grew. They were lucky to make it outside for food on most good days.

* * *

It was one of the days that they couldn’t risk going outside when they were found. The omega hunters moved swiftly and quietly and by the time the omegas knew they were there, only a few of them could run. Oikawa picked up a metal pipe from their trash pile and hit an alpha holding one of the children in the back of the head. The kid dropped to the floor and Akaashi ushered them to the escape point.

Tsukishima grabbed one of the steel rebar bars they’d used to reinforce the wall and lifted it in front of him. Akaashi, Hinata, Noya, Tanaka, and Suga followed their lead. With all of them armed the alphas slowed their approach and it allowed more of their pack to escape.

One of the alphas yanked the pipe out of Oikawa’s hand and the omega lost his footing. The man swung the weapon down and Tōru lifted his hands to guard. The pipe cut a long gash along his right forearm and he cried out in pain. Tsukishima swing his own weapon at the alpha that attacked their pack leader and the end of the rebar embedded itself in the alpha’s head. He gasped and let go of the metal in shock and watched the body drop.

The alpha turned on them with hungry looks in their eyes and the omegas shivered under the stare. The weapon in Noya’s hand shook as he raised it and tried to threaten them off. Tsukishima grabbed Oikawa and pulled him by his uninjured arm across the floor away from the hunters.

The head hunter pulled out a gun from the back of his pants. He clicked off the safety and pointed it at Tsukishima and Oikawa.

“Drop your weapons or the omega that killed my friend here gets killed.”

The makeshift weapons clattered to the floor and the sound of them ricocheted off the brick around them. There was a faint echo as the sound carried into the underground train tunnels. The alpha’s prowled forward and pushed the omegas to the ground. Their hands were tied together, along with their feet, before they were hauled back up and strung into a line. There was just enough room in the ropes to allow them to lift their feet for the stairs out of the building.

“Did all the kids make it out?” Nishinoya leaned back into Akaashi.

“Yes, they all made it.”

“Good.”

They were shuffled in a line out of the underground and then into the back of a metal truck. In the back of the crowd, Tsukishima thought he caught a glimpse of a familiar face. Before he could think about who it might be, the doors were closed in their face.

There was only a little light filtering in the back of the truck and the alphas in the compartment with them had large guns slung across their back. Two of the hunters from the underground untied their wrists one by one before he strung their hands up and cuffed them to a post attached to the wall. Once they were done, they knocked on the window into the cab to let them know they were ready to go.

Their bodies fell into one another and squished Oikawa against the door where he was the last one in the vehicle. He whimpered in pain as the sharp metal of the hinge dug into his open wound.

Hinata’s eyes were glazed over from where he hung, toes barely scraping the bottom of the truck (Nishinoya hung centimeters above it). The small omega wasn’t responsive to Suga next to him, even when the older man nudged him with his knee. There was a soft muttering from him, the same two words over and over again.

“Not again.”

It took several moments for Tsukishima to remember that Hinata was originally caught by omega hunters and he escaped when the truck crashed. He swallowed and fixed his eyes on the ground.

Distress flooded the cabin and they were surprised by the restraint of the alphas with them to not respond to the pheromones. They kept their weapons trained on the omegas in case of foul play, despite the rocking of the truck as it bounced down the road. Tsukishima closed his eyes and prayed to every god he could name that their sacrifice wasn’t in vain and that the other omegas made it safely away from the omega hunters.

* * *

**I think I found their hideout. The problem is that even if we get them out, we don’t exactly have anywhere to keep them.**

Kuroo lowered his phone and stared out the window of his office building. He finished his work a couple hours before and was ignoring the few new sheets that came in. A commotion down on the street corner caught his attention and he figured it was a good time to take a small break.

Outside of the building he heard people whispering about an omega colony. Tetsurō pushed his way through the crowd. As he made it to the front, there was a string of seven omegas being loaded into the truck. Despite that it was over a year since he last saw the blond omega and his smaller red-headed friend, Kuroo recognized them. They were the ones he bought heat toys and sweatshirts for. They were the ones he had spent a year researching to find a location of their colony.

It was smaller than he expected.

The blond turned his way for only a moment and he wasn’t sure the omega saw or recognized him in the crowd. It wouldn’t reflect well on him to step in the way of the omega hunters—Tetsurō needed to be sneaky about freeing them.

Kuroo was distracted when another set of alphas dragged out a dead body from a doorway that was originally hidden behind a dumpster.

“Apparently one of the omegas killed him.” A woman whispered. “Hit him in the head with rebar. That’s what the hunters said.”

Tetsurō fought back a proud grin. While the hunters still outnumbered them, they’d killed one member of their opposition. It was impressive. No doubt they did it because of a larger pack that managed to escape.

“Why would an omega kill an alpha?” A beta responded in just as low of a whisper.

“There were more omegas down there than just the seven. The others escaped through a hole in the wall into the subway tunnel.” The original replied. “My husband is one of the hunters and he’s pissed because there’s no way of telling which way they ran and they don’t want to waste man power on finding them.”

Kuroo heard the truck start up and quickly pulled out his phone. He managed to capture a discrete picture of the license plate by also including the alpha’s body in his photo. Once the photo was done, he dialed a familiar number. While it rang, he began the familiar path back to his office.

“Ukai, how much room do you have for new omegas?”

“Probably around ten or so—the expansion is just about finished.”

“Good.” He looked up at the cloudy sky as he stepped into the revolving door. “How much money do you need to purchase seven omegas off the black market. I have the license plate attached to the truck they were loaded in.”

“What did you get yourself into?”

“Nothing really—just found some omegas that need a little help from the good guys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yakuza AU Sneak Peak:
> 
> Title: _Youngblood_
> 
> “You’ve heard of the Kuroo-kai, haven’t you?”  
> The omega looked up at him. “Are you the young kumichō?”  
> “I am. It’s good that you recognize me.” Kuroo smiled. “I think I’ve kept you from your friends long enough and I have some business to attend to. You’ll keep what you did hear tonight a secret won’t you? There’s nothing absolutely awful about what you heard, but I want to play it safe.”  
> He agreed and Kuroo walked him back out into the hallway.  
> “What was your name, megane-kun?”  
> “Tsukishima Kei.”


	10. Chapter 10

When they arrived at their destination, they were loaded off the truck one by one. They couldn’t tell the size of the building from the outside, but the entry atrium was small and compact. The omegas were led into a side room where they were told to strip and then wait by the next door. Inside the other room was a height chart, like in police stations, and they were handed a plaque with a number. The hunters photographed them naked and categorized their wounds and scars.

Once done, they were let into another room where an alpha gave them clothes with their numbers imprinted on them. They dressed quickly and were led to another room where a beta woman at a desk notated their names and numbers on a document before she listed the date and time of their capture. Their previous belongings were put in a sealed locker in the office with the beta woman they didn’t have access to.

Their names were not released on the official paperwork they saw, rather they had a number and it included the photos. The office worker ran the papers through a scanner system in the corner. Off the reflection of the glass behind her, Tsukishima saw her open up a webpage and load the images of the files to a non-descript site. She dragged a predetermined price from the side of the screen in one of the panels and dropped it next to their photos with a large tag design. It was only a few minutes before she had it posted officially online.

“They’re good to go.” She announced.

A door to the right of the entry chamber swung open and a burly looking alpha waved them through. The room was filled to the brim with omegas in various states. Some huddled in groups that bled distressed pheromones, others nursed heavy injuries, and a smaller portion looked dead.

They stayed together and moved through the crowd to a clear area on the floor. Oikawa clutched at his arm, which was still an open wound, and tried not to cry. Tsukishima let out soft comforting pheromones in the hope that it would help ease a little of his pain.

“Thank you for protecting the pack with me.” Oikawa leaned into the blond and a few tears leaked from his eyes.

“We couldn’t leave you there on your own. It wouldn’t be right.” Suga ran his fingers through the man’s hair. “The good thing is that we’re all together and that the others escaped.”

“Of course.”

* * *

They were only in the unit for twenty-four hours before their numbers were called to the room at large. They stood and walked to the door where a beta man waited for them.

“You’ve been purchased by a returning buyer. Congrats.”

“Thank you,” Suga responded softly.

“You’re going to change back into your clothes from before your arrival here and then you’ll be loaded by number.”

“Understood.” Oikawa bowed and followed his friends into the changing room. His arm had mostly scabbed over and Tsukishima helped him change back into his clothes so he wouldn’t jostle it too much.

Once his senior was ready to go, Tsukishima slid his own hoodie over his frame. Though it long lost the scent of the juniper smelling alpha, he kept it as a fond memento. The first time he experienced a kind alpha after being shunted from the Tanaka home.

As promised, they were loaded one by one into the truck that would deliver them to their destination. They were chained to the wall in a similar fashion to when they were first captured, but they used longer chains for Nishinoya and Hinata. The two omegas were safely on the floor of the truck. It was a short drive to their location, and they were thankful for it.

The door to the truck opened to a large traditional gate that had a pathway into the estate. Two lines of beta servants lined the walkway to the main house and the omegas stared around them in shock.

“Welcome, young masters.” The betas greeted.

From the main porch, a yankee looking young man approached them. His died blond hair was pulled back by a headband and he had a candy cigarette in his mouth. The omega in front of the house remained in his spot, hands on his pregnant belly. Tsukishima’s toes curled as he realized their expectations. His brown hair curled in every direction and was disturbed into worse patterns by the wind. He raised a hand to adjust his glasses on his nose and gave them a soft smile.

The man walked past them and to the drivers of the truck. He waved forward one of the beta servants who offered him a briefcase. The alpha popped open the lid.

“This is the agreed upon amount.”

“Of course. We thank you for your purchase.” The hunters gave him a hungry smile, passed him the paperwork for the omegas, and climbed back into truck and drove off.

“You seven have had a long few days at least. Come inside and get cleaned up.” The man waved them forward and they followed obediently. “I’m Ukai Keishin, this is my mate, Ittetsu.”

The alpha lowered his own collar and showed them his bond mark to the omega.

“You don’t have to worry about anything here. You’re safe now.”

“Why us? Why not seven others?” Sugawara piped up.

“Because you had a sponsor. An alpha donor of our saw you get taken by the hunters and we tracked the license plate. His good graces put you here in the Sanctuary. You’ll have an opportunity to meet him after you get cleaned up—only if you want to.”

“Come with me,” Ittetsu put out his hand. “Myself and some of the betas will help get you cleaned up and into some nicer clothes. Then you can go outside and explore the garden.”

They obediently followed behind him into the house where they were led through a back hallway into a separate room. It was full of showers and a large bath with steaming water.

“Get yourselves cleaned up. I can dispose of your old clothes.”

“Actually, I want to keep my hoodie.” Tsukishima held the material close to him.

“In that case, I can throw it in the wash. You may not get it back until tomorrow though, if that’s okay?” Ittetsu offered. Kei agreed hesitantly and handed over the worn fabric.

Oikawa hissed in pain as he tried to get his clothes off and Hinata jumped over to help him.

“Oh dear, you’re injured.” The older omega stepped quickly over to him to inspect the wound. “We’ll need to get this disinfected and stitched up. I’ll have Ukai contact the doctor. Sadly, we only have an alpha one. Will that be okay?”

Oikawa nodded stiffly and the omega pulled away.

“I’ll be right back. Please, enjoy the bath.”

They separated their clothes into a save and discard pile before they stepped over to the showers. Each of them helped the others wash their backs and tend to smaller wounds. It took three of them to gently cleanse Oikawa’s arm, but by the end of their ministrations, it looked less horrid. The bath was warm and comfortable. It was several years since they last had an opportunity to enjoy simple luxuries.

“The doctor is ready when you are.” Ittetsu came back into the bath. “Please take your time, though. I’m sure it’s been quite a while since you’ve had a proper bath.”

“The doctor came quick.”

“Yes, it turns out he was here visiting with the sponsor who encouraged us to buy you. I think he may have suspected at least one of you would be injured.”

“How come you haven’t asked for any of our names?” Tanaka peered up at the omega from water level as he soaked.

“Well, we do have your names in the files the hunters gave us, but we prefer to operate on a trust basis. If you don’t trust us enough to give us your name, then you can stay here without one. Keishin and I don’t mind—we understand how hard it is for omegas to feel like they can trust others in this world of cruelty.

“My name’s Hinata Shōyō.” The orange haired omega jumped out of the bath and stopped in front of the older omega. “Thank you for buying us and giving us a nice home.”

“It’s no trouble at all.” Ittetsu smiled. “I almost think it might be best for all of you to have a short visit with the doctor to discuss health concerns. If you don’t mind.”

They shook their heads and it was decided. Ittetsu let them stay together and simply moved them to another room where there were couches and a table. At the table was an alpha male with dark brown hair. He had soft features and wasn’t as bulky as the other alpha’s they encountered. He smiled at them when he noticed their presence and something about the gesture eased their stances.

“I’m Ennoshita Chikara. I heard one of you has a rather nasty injury.”

The omegas looked at Oikawa who didn’t move. His terror of the alpha rose and he pushed himself back into his friends.

“If you want, I can walk your pack through disinfecting it and not do anything else.” The alpha stayed where he was and made sure that his scent didn’t react to Oikawa’s. Tsukishima was impressed.

“No, I need—it hurts.”

Ennoshita’s brows wrinkled in thought. “Sit on the couch with your pack, then I’ll look at your arm.”

Oikawa sat on the edge of the couch where his arm could be accessed and the omegas gathered around him to watch Ennoshita work. The alpha smiled softly and brought his kit with him. He inspected the wound and announced that it wasn’t too deep, so it wouldn’t need stiches. He rubbed a balm that made the wound sting and wrapped it with a cloth bandage.

“Because of the severity of it, it might still scar, but I hope it won’t. Be careful to not use the arm too much while it heals or you may rip the scab open again.”

“Thank you.” Oikawa explored the wrapping with his other hand.

“It’s no problem. I think I may tell Itettsu that I’ll come back and do your physical exams when you’ve been here a little longer. I don’t want to scare you.”

Suga stared up at the alpha. “Your thoughtfulness is appreciated.”

“Of course.”

He stepped out of the room and a couple minutes later, Ittetsu was back.

“Ennoshita-san told me what he did. I know this must be terrifying for you. Would you prefer to go into the garden or would at least some of you like to meet our sponsor?”

“I want to meet him.” Tsukishima surprised them by saying.

“I don’t want to.” Hinata latched onto Oikawa’s arm.

“We’ll split into two groups. I’ll go with Tsukishima to meet our sponsor, Oikawa and Hinata can go into the garden. The rest and go with whichever group they want.” Suga decided.

Akaashi joined the two going to meet the alpha sponsor and the rest went out into the garden. Ittetsu showed them the way and the three stayed waiting in the living room space. Several minutes went by before Ittetsu returned with an alpha on his heels. The warm scent of juniper hit Tsukishima like a truck. It knocked all the breath out of his lungs and he stared up at the kind alpha that purchased toys for Suga’s heat the year previous.

“This is Kuroo Tetsurō, our main sponsor for this purchase.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we've arrived.
> 
> (P.S. I may have to take next week off posting because I was busier during the holidays than I expected and I didn't have as much time to write as I wanted. If there's no new chapter on 1/2/2020, you know why.)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I don't have an update for "Fuck You" this week, I'm giving you a double update of "Omega". Next chapter on Thursday! Also, I'm just really in the mood for working on this story.

Kuroo waited outside the rooms designed for the omegas and anticipated whether or not the group would want to meet him. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t eager to meet the blond again. He was hoping that he helped Ukai buy the right group—the older alpha being kind enough to confirm that there was a tall blond in their group.

“You need to calm down so you don’t scare them.” Ennoshita tugged on his long sleeves. “Were you right about them being injured?”

“I’m sure I was—I overheard that one of them managed to kill one of the hunters. It’d be stupid to think they weren’t hurt after a stunt like that.”

“I suppose. If you called me down here on a hunch though, I will not come to your weird bachelor parties for a month.”

“You love our alpha movie nights.”

“Yeah, alright.”

“Get yourselves cleaned up. I can dispose of your old clothes.” Ittetsu’s voice drifted out of the showers.

“Actually, I want to keep my hoodie.” One of the omegas responded with a firm voice.

Kuroo perked up because the tone sounded familiar, but he wasn’t sure what each of the seven sounded like. If he was lucky, he’d only manage to recognize two voices max, but he was sure he had no idea who the two he helped previously were.

“In that case, I can throw it in the wash.”

It was quiet for along while before a small whimper escaped one of the omegas inside the room.

“Oh dear, you’re injured.”

 _Told you,_ Kuroo mouthed to Ennoshita who rolled his eyes. He dug through his medical bag and made sure that he had enough supplies to at least treat the injury. If it was a broken bone, he didn’t have the supplies to set it and would need to return at a later date.

“Ennoshita, you’re already here.” Ittetsu looked relieved when he stepped out of the showers. “One of them has quite the nasty gash on his arm. The others don’t appear too injured.”

“That’s good to hear. Is there a room I can set up my equipment in?”

“Yes, of course, let me show you there.” The omega took a few steps away from the showers. “Kuroo-kun, can you please wait in Ukai’s office until I come and get you? I don’t know if the omegas will want to meet you and we don’t want to scare them.”

“Of course, I understand. Ukai-san and I need to talk about long-term arrangements as it is.”

“Thank you, for being understanding.”

“I know how rare it is these days. Please, take care of them.”

“If I can say something, you seem oddly invested in this group of omegas.” Ittetsu pulled at his shirt. Ennoshita joined the omega in giving his friend a curious look.

“I met one of them once, I think. A few years ago, if it is the same guy, I just want him to have a better life. Bokuto and I did what we could then, but I never knew where to find them to do more. This is my opportunity to hopefully make up for that.”

“You’re too noble for your own good. If only there were more alphas like you and Ennoshita out there.”

“One alpha recognizing the flaws of our society is a step in the right direction.” Kuroo agreed. “Although, it can also be a detriment. You’ve met Iwaizumi, right?”

“Yes, he’s quite the nice young alpha.”

“Yeah, he is, but he’s caught up on finding his childhood friend and saving him. It’s prevented him from seeing the people that need help right in front of him sometimes.”

“I see.” Ittetsu looked at the floor. “I’ll let you go meet with Ukai and help Ennoshita get prepared to help our omegas.”

“Of course.” Kuroo stepped away from them and continued through the main house entryway, till he reached the hall at the back that led to the alpha’s office. _Please, let them want to meet me_.

He knocked on Ukai’s office door and was called in shortly.

“Kuroo, just the man I was hoping would stop by. Are you waiting to meet your acquisition?”

“Yes, if they will meet with me. Ittetsu told me he’d let me know.”

“I was surprise by the terms you put forth, but I could hardly decline your offer regarding them staying here.”

“You’ll send me their monthly expenses as a bill, yes?”

“Yes, that is my plan. Are you sure you want to pay for their clothing as well?”

“I want to sponsor them staying here personally. If they do find someone in the future that they would want to mate with, I would hand them over to their spouse without any issue. I begged you to take them in when you were already limited on space. It’s only right that I treat this more as a long-term hotel transaction.”

“That’s extremely generous of you.”

“I have Kenma at home—the childhood friend I told you about—I would’ve sponsored them that way, but they don’t know me, I’m sure they would’ve been terrified, and my apartment is not big enough for all of them.”

“We were already preparing the space needed for another shipment of omegas—you didn’t put us out that much.”

“I still want to provide the money to take care of them. If you’ll take it.”

“I can hardly say no to such a generous offer.” Ukai sighed. “I’m assuming this will take place of your usual monthly donations?”

“Yes, I won’t quite be able to afford both.” Kuroo laughed.

“We have our other investors—and with you covering the cost completely for seven of our omegas, I think we’ll be able to look into more expansions soon.”

“That’s great news.” Kuroo grinned.

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Ittetsu poked his head into the office.

“Ennoshita just finished up with the omegas and I’ve moved the ones that wanted to meet their sponsor into the living room area. There’s only three of them, but two of them seem more terrified and protective of the third one who wanted to meet with you.”

“We’re pretty much done here anyway.” Ukai placed his hands face down on the table. “Thank you for your charitable contribution.”

“Thank you for giving them a home, really.”

“Is Kuroo increasing his donation?” Ittetsu looked happy with the news.

“I actually volunteered to pay for the entire cost of the omegas living here.”

“No, that’s too much.”

“It’s not. I forcefully brought their case to you and you both were kind enough to take them on.” Kuroo smiled. “I’d like to meet with them now, if I can. I just want to make sure they know they’re safe staying here.”

“I’m sure they’d love to hear you talk about the house. They are a little skittish as expected.”

“I understand, I’ll do my best not to startle them.”

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Ittetsu touched his shoulder softly as they moved through the hall toward the living room area of the main house. “What made you want to rescue this particular group of omegas?”

“Well, it started a couple years ago. Bokuto and I ran into a couple omegas on the street. They were trying to buy some heat aide toys for one of the others in their group and I bought them some when I realized what they were after. The also had these ratty clothes on from living in the underground, so Bokuto and I bought them hoodies to help hide them and mask their scents as omegas. They disappeared into the streets and I spent a lot of time looking for them—but I couldn’t quite track down where they were hiding.”

“Until today?”

“I got an idea of where they might be after the incident with the dead omegas that were turning up in the streets. A couple of us bought medication and put it out where we hoped they would find it. It disappeared and the bodies stopped showing up—so it gave me a clue that we were really close to their hideout.”

“That’s amazing.” The omega complimented.

“Yeah, it was some great detective work on all our parts. This morning I was doing some research at work and found a service entrance for the subway that was no longer used and it was extremely close to where the bodies were turning up. I saw a commotion out on the street around the area I was thinking they might be and sure enough—the hunters got to them first so I immediately contacted Ukai to get them somewhere safe.”

“You and your friends give me hope for the future.”

“Thank you.” Kuroo sighed. “I can only hope that we did get the right group and that the omegas we helped out a couple years ago are with them.”

“Well, now is your opportunity.” Ittetsu pushed open the door.

A familiar waft of strawberry filtered out of the room, along with the smells of two foreign omegas (marigold and clementine), washed over Kuroo and he smiled. When his eyes fell on the three men in the room, he immediately recognized the blond.

“This is Kuroo Tetsurō, our main sponsor for this purchase.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish there was a social media platform specifically for AO3 where I could just give you guys updates about what's going on or tease snippets of the story without posting a useless and bait chapter. :/


	12. Chapter 12

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Suga and Akaashi bowed politely, but Tsukishima was frozen on the spot.

“How did you find us?” He blurted out before he could stop himself. Kōshi nudged him with his elbow to try and urge the omega to welcome the alpha instead of accusing him.

“I’ve been actively looking.” Kuroo looked at the floor sheepishly. “I found you at the wrong moment though, so I immediately came to Ukai and asked him to take you in.”

“He graciously offered to sponsor your program here at the sanctuary. We’ve never had anyone that generous before and it’ll help us focus on expanding the habitat to bring in more omegas like yourselves.” Ittetsu’s face glowed with excitement.

“I suppose you’re expecting a favor in return?” Sugawara adopted an annoyed expression on his face.

“You’re not expecting anything.” Tsukishima stated with brazen confidence. “You’re legitimately trying to help us. Like you helped me a year ago.”

“No, nothing.” He shook his head. “It goes against the point of the Ukai’s sanctuary. This is a safe place for you guys to live. If you ever want a mate, you just talk to Ukai or Ittetsu and they have a list of alphas looking for mates and they’ve all been personally screened to make sure they fit with the ideals that they set forth. You’re in complete control of any potential relationships.”

“Well said, Kuroo.” The older omega clapped his hands together. “I’ll leave you alone for just a moment. I want to check up on the others from your group and make sure they’re getting settled into your rooms okay. A couple of you will need to share because the new expansion wasn’t as big as we were expecting, so I hope you don’t mind.”

“We’ve been sharing more than just a room for a while.” Akaashi gave him a soft smile. “Thank you for taking us in despite the lack of room.”

“Of course. Like Kuroo said, we want you to be safe here. It’s our first priority. I’ll only be a few minutes at most.” The omega left.

Suga gave him a long side eye. “Forgive me if I don’t quite believe you that you’re paying for seven omegas living expenses and not expecting anything in return.”

“I know you’re cautious because of how the world works—I’m hoping to show you that I don’t have any ill intentions just by continuing to be myself.”

“If what you’ve told us is true, it’s incredibly kind.” Akaashi kneeled on the couch and looked over the back of it at the alpha. “We are a little warry around alphas though. We’d appreciate a little time to just our group after what happened with the hunters.”

“I understand completely. If you want me to, I’ll step out of the room right now and you can wait for Ittetsu to come back.”

“You don’t have to.” Tsukishima surprised the other two by saying just loud enough for them to hear. “I remember you were really kind when you helped my packmate and me—and by extension another one of our packmates. You even held your promise on our wishes to not follow us back to our shelter and we were safe for another year.”

“There are a few good alphas left in the world. I’m glad I could be one of them.” Kuroo gave him a warm smile. “Thank you for the glowing review, by the way. I’m pleased I could help you out during your time of need.”

“You got those toys from him?” Suga’s jaw dropped.

“And the sweatshirts.”

“But you got those toys from him.”

“You were the one in heat!” Kei exploded. “You needed them and none of us were about to have sex with you.”

Kuroo took a step back with wide eyes and a flushed face. “I’ll just leave for now. I’m sure I have a few more things to discuss with Ukai. I hope you are all okay moving forward. Let the owners know if you need anything.”

He slipped out of the room and a flicker of disappointment passed across the blond’s face.

“You like him.” Akaashi mouthed with a slight whisper.

“He smells nice.” Tsukishima pulled at his sleeves.

Before they could say anything else, Ittetsu opened the side door again. “Oh, Kuroo’s gone. Are you ready to see the garden?”

“The garden would be wonderful.” Suga stated through gritted teeth. He pointed at Kei. “Don’t think that this conversation isn’t over.”

The omega shrugged and the group of three followed Ittetsu out of the room and down a short hallway. He pushed open a traditional sliding door and it opened onto a large wrap around porch with steps into the main courtyard. There was a sparkling brook that ran under the house and cut through the yard. A small bridge crossed over in one spot, while there was a stone pathway farther down. The grassy area was large and there were picnic tables set up near the outdoor grills and firepits. On the far side, nearest what looked like the new expansion were three separate sports courts. There was a volleyball, basketball, and tennis court respectively.

“We’re hoping that with our next expansion, we’ll also be able to buy out enough property to build a baseball and softball field, but it takes up a large space. You’re welcome to use the sports facilities as you see fit.”

“Suga-san!” Hinata came tearing over to them with Nishinoya on his heels. “They have a volleyball court. We can play!”

“Yes, we can.” The omega smiled.

“The alphas are supposed to stay on the porch to the far right over there if they’re visiting so that they don’t scare you guys. Not all of the omegas are comfortable around alphas.” Ittetsu pointed out. “That’s why we built a little fence around it. You’re also welcome to use the library in the main house if you like reading, other than that, the houses out here should have everything you need. Let us know if you have any special requests, we’ll put them through to Ukai and he’ll get them.”

“And Kuroo-san will pay.” Suga adopted a dark expression.

“Yes.” The older omega ignored him. “I’ll leave you to exploring the facilities, be sure to let me know if you have any questions. Dinner will be served when the bell rings.”

“It’s incredibly pretty here.” Oikawa appeared behind them. “I don’t trust the no alpha rule.”

“I don’t either.” Akaashi stretched his arms above his head. “If it turns out to be true though, I’ll be incredibly happy.”

“We all will.” Suga approached the brook and took off his sandals to dip his feet in the water. “This is nice.”

* * *

“Is that their file?” Kuroo asked Ukai as he stepped back into the office and saw the older alpha with a manila folder in hand.

“It is, I was just putting it away after recording their purchase numbers and extracting their images.”

“Can I take a look at it?”

Keishin sighed. “Kuroo, you know how we do things here at the sanctuary. Even if you’re sponsoring their program, I can’t show you their file. It would go against their trust.”

“I know the policy.” His shoulders dropped. “I just want to know who they are.”

“One day, when they decide to trust us, we’ll know. You can come around the house as often as you want and visit them, only if they’re willing to see you.”

“That’s how it was before.” Tetsurō smiled wryly.

“Your attachment to this group is almost worrisome.” Ukai opened the vault with the files on their omegas and set the folder inside as the door opened.

“Is there anything I can help you with before I get started on dinner?” Ittetsu offered.

Keishin closed the door to the vault and locked it. He took the omega’s elbow in his hand. “I should be the one asking you that. You’ve been on your feet all day, sit down and rest for a bit.”

“That’s not helping.” He huffed.

“It is helping me have peace of mind that you’re okay.”

“Oh, I almost forgot.” The omega sat up straight in his chair. “One of the omegas from the new group told me their name.”

“Which one?” Ukai laid out the photos side by side.

“The red-haired one here, his name is Hinata Shōyō.”

Keishin picked up one of the pens on his desk and on the white margin under the photo, he scribbled out the omega’s name.

“If you’re so eager to help, you can add their pictures to the binder in the main office while I start on dinner. If you’re not in a rush to get out of here, Kuroo, would you help prepare the meal?”

“Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo awkwardly backing out of the room when Tsukishima mentions sex is a MOOD right now.


	13. Chapter 13

“How can you even tolerate that man?” Suga turned on Tsukishima as soon as their group was alone in one of their three rooms. The others’ eyes, who had not met Kuroo, moved between them like it was a tennis match.

“He helped us get out of the clutches of the hunters and into this place and you’re mad about it?”

“He’s paying for us to live here.”

“Which is a generous offer! He agreed that he doesn’t expect anything out of us. He’s not extorting us for safety.” Kei balled his hands into fists. “Someone being nice to us is an incredible change after the life we’ve had.”

“How long can you trust him to hold to that promise?”

“Him and his friend bought Hinata and I those hoodies along with the toys we needed for our heats. I already brought this up, but when we turned down his direct protection—by him walking us back—he found another way to protect us.”

“That’s why you like that sweater so much.” Akaashi gave him a wry smile. “It’s from an alpha you like.”

“Well, he smells nice and he was kind. There’s not much more you can ask for in this fucking messed up world.” He folded his arms across his chest.

“The alphas from a year ago were the ones that bought us?” Hinata touched his arm.

“Just one, the taller one with black hair.”

“That’s really nice of him.” The smaller omega shivered with warmth. “He brought us to a really nice place. I was so scared we were going to get sold somewhere worse and this time, I wouldn’t escape by a fluke.”

“You’re just going to side with him, Hinata?” Suga adopted a hurt expression.

“Suga-san, I know you came from a beta breeding house, but both Oikawa-san and Noya-san were in omega houses. This isn’t the same thing. I want to trust our purchasers. Tsukishima telling us that the alpha who helped us out before was the one who brought us here, only makes me happier. It helps me remember that there are still good people in this world.”

“Yeah, well, his smell isn’t enough to dictate that it’s okay for him to just put us here.” Oikawa stared at the ground. “There were plenty of people in the omega house that smelled pretty good, but it was hard to think anything good of them with their dick forcefully in my ass while I was chained to a bed.”

“Kuroo-san is different.” Tsukishima tried to placate.

“We don’t know that for sure.” Suga sat down on the ground.

“We shouldn’t let this kind of a thing divide us.” Tanaka spoke up from the back of the room. “We all have our opinion about the situation, and I don’t think we’re going to agree until we get the ‘proof’ that we’re looking for and each of us wants something different. For now, I think we should trust that we are safe here and then we can judge if that situation changes.”

“Ryū has a point.” Nishinoya stood and placed himself between Tsukishima and Sugawara. “For now, we need to extend as much trust as we feel comfortable with individually and then go from there. If we don’t have any trust, that’s fine because if they try and push us, we’ll see them for who they really are.”

“That’s a fair assessment.” Akaashi placed a hand on Tsukishima’s shoulder. “We can all have a personalized and group experience all at once.”

After a long, still moment, Kōshi dropped his defensive posture. “I can agree to that.”

They quietly agreed to the terms and prepared their spaces for bed.

* * *

By the end of the first two weeks, the Ukai’s knew the names of all of their newest omegas except for the leader. The most injured out of all of them still didn’t trust them.

“We need to arrange a time when we can have you get a physical exam with our doctor.” Ittetsu approached them on the grass. “It’s been a couple weeks and you’ve had some time to get acclimated here. Ennoshita-san is gentle and you can all be in the room together if you want. It’s not an invasive exam.”

“We’ll have to get one eventually.” Tanaka sighed. “When are we expected to meet with him?”

“He is coming on Friday for a checkup with some of the other omegas. We can schedule you the same day.”

“Friday is fine.” Suga decided for the group.

“Does he ask for our names?” Oikawa muttered.

“No, he only looks at your statistics. He may ask your age so that he can compare a generalized normal to the results from the exam. The only thing he’ll report to us is if you have enough nutrients or if we need to change your meal plan. Anything else you tell him is up to you. He’s very good about doctor-patient confidentiality.”

“We look forward to meeting with him.”

* * *

“Onto, Sugawara-san?” Ennoshita stepped out of the examination room with his clipboard.

“Ittetsu said we could do our examination as a pack?” Suga and the other six omegas stood behind him.

“Of course, if you all feel more comfortable that way. Please step in.” He held the door open for the group and they shuffled into the infirmary space. “I have on my clipboard that I need your ages and that there is one unnamed omega in your group.”

“That’s correct.”

“All I need to know is their age, I’m assuming birth gender is male.”

“I’m twenty-three.” Oikawa spoke up from his seat on the couch.

“Good, from a glance you don’t look too far off from what I’d expect at your age. Do you mind if we start with you first?”

“No.” He stood up and situated himself on the examination table.

Ennoshita checked his temperature, had him stand for height and weight, tracked his reflexes, before he had the omega take his shirt off to listen to his breathing.

“Your wound from the hunter attack is healing up nicely.” Ennoshita complimented as he changed the wrapping. “Your reflexes and breathing are normal as well. I only have one question for you that’ll affect my final assessment.”

“And that is?”

“The stretch marks are indicative of a past pregnancy. Have you been pregnant before? It changes your nutrition intake and affects how your body should be reacting at this age.”

Oikawa shifted uncomfortably on the table.

“I have been pregnant.”

“That’s all I needed. You can sit down.”

“You’re not going to ask me anything about the baby?”

“It’s not my business to know.” Ennoshita shrugged. “All I need to know is what affects your health and what I report back to Ukai is a specific action to take for unnamed-san. He won’t know anything about said past pregnancy, nor will he know any of the other numbers I collected. We only want to make sure we’re keeping you healthy.”

Tōru burst into tears. “Thank you.”

“You’re in a safe space here.” The alpha rubbed soothing circles on his back. “Let’s get you back to your pack over on the couch and then I can examine another one of them.”

Ennoshita didn’t find much abnormal for any of them considering their lifestyle, except that they were all underweight and a little underfed. The only thing he’d report back would be an increase in their portion sizes for meals and that they needed to clear their plates.

Oikawa spent most of the afternoon crying out of relief and Ittetsu fluttered around him trying to figure out what was wrong. Suga ended up explaining that he was relieved about Ennoshita’s confidentiality and Ittetsu dropped his worrisome manner, a bit. He still gave Oikawa a little more food than the others and made sure he had a new blanket for his nest that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ran into a wall with "The Last Seven Years". I can't figure out a good career for Kuroo to have. If you have an idea, shoot me a comment. On the other hand, I'm super inspired with "Omega" and I can't stop working on it! Triple update this week. :)


	14. Chapter 14

They set up a schedule to meet once a month with Kuroo with a list of requests. He would accommodate as many requests as he could afford, or discuss alternative options. On their first list, they requested new heat aide toys with flushed faces, but the alpha hardly batted an eye. The supplies were delivered the next day and given to them by Ittetsu.

The omegas were shown how to prepare their rooms for their oncoming heats and how they could signal the main house about the onset. Appropriate meals would be brought to them in their room and the other omegas could temporarily share a nest with the others in their group. Most of their heats fell in September, but the ones in October came quickly after the September set.

Tanaka’s hit first, with Akaashi following him only a couple days later. The day after Akaashi crawled out of their designated heat nest, Suga was in. Hinata fell in the day after Suga was out and the last couple days of Hinata’s heat, he was joined by Tsukishima. They were given almost a week reprieve before Nishinoya was in the heat room and three days after he finished, Oikawa was the last of their group to hit his first heat at the Sanctuary.

Kei spent most of his heat with his face buried in the sweater he received a year previous and wishing it had even just a hint of the smell of juniper. He could only recall a falsetto of the true scent in his mind as he desperately tried to find ways to get himself off and trick his body into thinking he had an alpha to care for him. Since his first heat, it was something he wanted.

As an omega, Tsukishima didn’t have any of the harsh experiences that Suga, Hinata, Nishinoya, or Oikawa did. Even Akaashi was a little outsider to the group with a different background. The only one he was the most similar too was Tanaka and that was frustrating as all get out because they weren’t even opposite sides of the same coin. He didn’t have anyone to talk to about his wants or his needs. If he told any of them that he wanted a mate, they’d spend months trying to talk him out of it and never listen to his opinion on the matter. Kei sat back in the blankets of the heat nest during one of the short brakes between lustful waves. The only one in their group he thought he might be able to get a good conversation out of would be Akaashi, but he didn’t know how to single out the omega without raising alarm to the others.

Once done with his heat, curious, and still annoyed at the lack of fulfillment from toys during his heat, Tsukishima snuck behind the rest of his pack’s backs to ask about the process of finding a mate. Ittetsu slipped him a leaflet with profiles on the alphas looking for a mate when he was alone and he carried it on his person at all times.

He browsed through the pages languidly to explore the alphas that passed the Ukai’s background check. He heard rumors from the other omegas that they looked into their prospective suitors extensively to make sure they aligned with their purposes for bringing about a better society. It took him nearly a week to make it all the way through the booklet, and at the end, he only had a sharp sting of disappointment in his stomach.

Their buyer and sponsor, Kuroo wasn’t in the book.

Tsukishima tried to think back to his interactions with the alpha and remember if there was anything to define him as not eligible, but he couldn’t think of anything. He closed his eyes and rolled over onto his back. There was something else going on. It could be that the alpha wasn’t looking for a mate currently—that was the simplest option. The man probably wanted to be single for a while longer.

He gritted his teeth as he remembered the faint smell of peaches that clung to Kuroo’s clothes the last time they met. Kei figured it couldn’t hurt to ask their protectors about the alpha—or at least, he could ask Ittetsu and pray that the man wouldn’t mention anything about his inquiry.

It took Tsukishima a while to find where the omega was at, but his search ended in the empty laundry room. The omega was busy folding clothes into appropriately labeled baskets for each pack of omegas in the sanctuary. He smiled when he saw the taller blond enter the room.

“What can I help you with?”

“I had a question about the booklet you gave me.” Tsukishima held it up and tried not to crinkle the pages too much.

“Did you find someone you’re interested in?”

“I’m not sure. I have more of a question regarding an alpha not in the book.”

“Oh?” Ittetsu set the shirt down and gave the omega his full attention.

“Our sponsor, Kuroo-san, I didn’t see him in here.”

“Oh, no, Kuroo-kun has an omega at home. He’s not in the book for that reason.”

Kei swayed on his feet and tried not to lose his balance. _The peaches_. His lower lip trembled.

“Are you okay, Tsukishima-san? Is that all you wanted to ask me about?”

The blond nodded hesitantly. “For now. I think I’ll give it another read through.”

“Take your time, you’re in no rush.”

Tsukishima walked on unsteady legs back out into the garden and across the stream to where his pack rested on the grass.

“Tsukki, are you okay?” Suga immediately noticed his pale skin, shell-shocked eyes, and lack of strength.

Kei shook his head slowly before he slumped onto the grass. Tears burned the corners of his eyes and he willed them not to fall.

“Do you want to talk about it with me?”

“No,” he managed to whisper out. “I want Akaashi.”

Keiji stood and pressed his hands into Tsukishima’s before he pulled him toward the rooms. “I understand, come with me.”

Once they were settled into a corner of the nest, Akaashi gathered some of the blankets and pulled them closer around just the two of them. He draped one across Tsukishima whose tears fell freely as he curled into the material.

“What’s going on?”

“I want a mate.”

“Okay? That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Pretty much everyone else in my pack has had a harder life than me and they don’t really want one right now. I’ve always wanted one, since my first heat.”

“Your pack shouldn’t hold you back from having what you want.” Akaashi rubbed soothing patterns onto the taller omega’s back. “What is it about wanting a mate that made you so upset? I think you worried your packmates by asking for me instead of them. You’ve known them longer.”

“I went to Ittetsu-san and asked for the pamphlet with eligible alphas in it.”

“That’s a good first step.”

“So, I took my time and looked through it, but I didn’t find the alpha I was looking for.”

Akaashi paused. “You were looking for Kuroo-san, weren’t you?”

Tsukishima nodded and cried loudly for several minutes into Keiji’s shoulder.

“What happened to hurt you this much?”

“He wasn’t in the pamphlet.” Kei shrunk into the blanket and tried to make himself smaller.

“Okay, but that doesn’t mean anything in itself. He might not be looking for a mate.”

The blond shook his head and gasped through his tears. “I asked Ittetsu-san about it and he said that Kuroo-san already has an omega at home. He’s taken.”

“You really like him a lot, didn’t you?”

“Ever since we met briefly last year.” Kei reached out for one of the pillows and pulled it to his chest.

“It’ll be okay.” Akaashi pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head. “We can look through the pamphlet together in a few days and look at the alphas in it with a new light. I’ll help you choose someone you’d like to date. We can also arrange it so that you aren’t involved in the meetings with him.”

“I like that idea.”

“Good.” Keiji smiled. “You should get some sleep and rest up.”

“Thank you for listening to me and supporting me.”

“It’s no problem. It’s the least that you deserve.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewatched "Grease" recently and now I'm tempted to write an ABO Haikyuu version with Kuroo as Danny and Tsukishima as Sandy. I don't think it'd work though.


	15. Chapter 15

It took a lot of explaining from a wiped-out Tsukishima and a tired Akaashi to tell their pack just why Kei was upset. It brought on varying reactions, but was eventually settled by Oikawa saying:

“At least if you found a mate, it’d only ever be one person.”

Their conversation ended and Tsukishima happily lived with the semi-peace that it brought along with it. As promised, Akaashi helped him review the pamphlet of eligible alphas once he was cried out over Kuroo. He found a couple that looked nice and had good profiles, even Akaashi eyed up one of the men in the pamphlet. Keiji claimed to not be interested when Tsukishima tried to rib him about his choice.

* * *

“How are the omegas doing? Do they need anything?” Kuroo spoke into the phone while fixing dinner for himself and Kenma.

“I’m not sure.” Ittetsu answered honestly. “One of them was suddenly upset the other day and from what I understand, he cried for quite a while. They haven’t told me what he was upset by, and they’re all a little more reclusive now. It’s like they took a sudden step backward.”

“Which omega was upset?”

“Tsukishima-kun.”

Kuroo’s posture straightened immediately and Kenma quirked his eyebrow at his best friend. “And you don’t know what upset him?”

“No, I mean, everything seemed to be going great. I think he was adapting to the Sanctuary the best out of his entire pack. He asked me the other day for the pamphlet on alphas looking for mates.”

“He _what?_ ” Kuroo’s grip on his phone tightened and his knuckles turned white.

“Asked about the potential mate pamphlet. He seemed kind of embarrassed about it because the rest of his pack don’t seem all that interested in that side of the Sanctuary—perfectly understandable on why, of course—but he’d just gotten out of his heat. I’m not sure what upset him after that though. He seemed pretty interested.”

Tetsurō closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He relaxed his stance and didn’t say anything for a long moment until he opened his eyes again. “Is there anything you think I can do on my end to help them?”

“I can’t think of anything for even Keishin or I to do on our end to help them. I think we need to give them a little space right now and let them come back to us when they’re ready.”

“It’s kind of frustrating waiting for them to trust us.” Kuroo half heartedly pushed at the pan of fish.

“It’s the business we’re in with omegas.” Ittetsu sighed. Shuffled papers echoed through the phone receiver. “How is your omega doing?”

“My omega? Are you talking about Kenma?”

“Yes, I understood he was your omega. That’s why you’re not in the eligible alpha pamphlet.”

“He is the reason I’m not in the pamphlet, but it’s not because he’s my mate.” Kuroo swallowed hard. “I thought I explained this to you before—he’s my childhood friend. I didn’t want him to end up like other omegas so I let him stay in my apartment for protection. I can’t really date anyone until I find a mate for him because they’d get the wrong idea.”

“If you’d just let Yamamoto put a mark on my neck, you could be done with me!” Kozume yelled just loud enough for the other man to hear on the phone. “I don’t want any of the courting bullshit! You’re making us jump through hoops.”

“I just want to make sure you’re treated right, Kenma.”

“And I will be if you freaking let him have me. We’ve both already agreed to it. I freaking asked if I could be with him.”

“OH!” Ittetsu’s exclamatory pulled the alpha back to the phone. “I think I figured out what might’ve happened to upset Tsukishima. I’ll let you go so you can work out the issues with Kenma and his potential mate on your end.”

“Have a good night. Be sure to let me know if they need anything.”

“We will.”

The phone call ended and gave off a faint beep in his ear.

“I bet that omega has a crush on you.” Kenma leaned over the back of the couch with his handheld gaming system held loosely between his fingers. “And because of me, you might’ve ruined your chance of having an actual mate.”

“I doubt it was anything like that.” Kuroo turned off the stove and moved the pan to a hot plate on the kitchen table.

“Oh, and your over dramatic reaction to finding out that the omega of your affections asked for a mating pamphlet, which you’re well aware you aren’t in, clearly wasn’t a sign that you like them.” The omega turned off his game and left the console on the couch.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh.” Kenma leveled him with a steady stare. “Your grip and posture changed as soon as Ittetsu-san mentioned that Tsukishima-san was upset. As soon as it was mentioned that the omega wanted a mate, you acted like someone told you your best friend committed a crime.”

Kuroo put out the plates on the table and tried his best to pretend like Kozume couldn’t read him like an open book.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of to find yourself attracted to an omega. That omega also has the right to find a mate he’s interested in—but I would warrant from what you’ve told me about your interactions with the omegas, that he might like you as well. I’m holding you down right now and I don’t want to do that. You know Yamamoto and you know me. You need to let me go, Kuro, let me be with someone that will make me happy. Then you’ll be free to make yourself happy too.”

“Can I at least think about it? I feel like I’m just giving up on giving you a good life.”

Kenma snorted. “Don’t take too long to think about it or your chances will be ruined. Besides, you’re not giving up on giving me a good life—you’d be giving me the exact life I want.”

* * *

“Are you feeling better Tsukishima-san?” Ittetsu approached their group as they laid out on the grass on blankets in a communal napping pile under the sunshine.

“Yes, I am, thank you for your concern.”

“That’s good to hear.” The omega smiled warmly at them. “I was coming over to let you know that the monthly meeting with Kuroo-san is approaching and I wanted to know who would be meeting with him.”

“I will,” Tanaka volunteered first. Suga, Akaashi, and Hinata also decided to meet with the alpha after exchanging a weird look with the bald omega.

“Wonderful, I’ll get everything set up.” Ittetsu wandered off with a frown on his face.

“Will you be okay, Tsukishima?” Hinata laid a hand on the omega’s arm.

“I’ll be fine.” He reassured softly.

* * *

“Kuroo-san, I think Tsukishima-san might’ve been interested in you.” Ittetsu stared at the ground as he greeted the alpha into their house for the meeting.

“What makes you say that?”

“After he got the pamphlet and looked through it, he asked why you weren’t in it and I told him that you had an omega at home. I completely misunderstood what you had going on with Kenma-san and I don’t know how to fix it.”

Kuroo’s hands started to sweat and he shoved them in his pockets as a distraction. “A lot of people have made that mistake about us. Even some of my friends. I’ll see if I can try and fix it when I’m in there.”

“Do you like him too, then?” The omega gave him a hopeful look.

“Kenma thinks so. I have a few other things I need to take care of for myself before I think about that though. Right now, we should meet with the omegas.”

“I don’t know if you’ll be able to fix it today, though.” Ittetsu dropped his hopeful posture again. “Tsukishima-san refused to come to the meeting.”

Kuroo’s fingers twitched and he consciously had to keep himself from balling them into fists. “I’ll do it your way. We’ll take it one step at a time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say--the chapter for "Youngblood" this week is shaping up to be absolutely fantastic. I'm excited for it.


	16. Chapter 16

“Okay, so which alphas were you thinking about getting to know better?” Akaashi spread the pamphlet out in front of them on the porch of their particular housing unit.

The omegas laid out on their stomachs so they could all look at the pages with the bios and pictures. Most of the alphas wore suits and ties for their photos, but there were a small handful that wore casual clothes and those were the ones that Tsukishima leaned toward the most. An alpha that put a business style photo forward would only ever be interested in the business—the transaction side of a relationship.

“I liked these three the best,” Tsukishima flipped to each individual page. “I think, from the bio, I could get along with them the easiest.”

“A couple of these seem really opposite your personality.” Suga read through them more. “I know they say opposites attract, but this is a bit much.”

“It doesn’t hurt to meet with them once, though.” Akaashi placated. “If Tsukishima decides he doesn’t like them, he doesn’t have to request a second date.”

“How does this work exactly?” Tanaka stopped the pamphlet on the page of the doctor that did their examinations. “Huh, he’s in here too.”

“Do you have a crush, Ryū?” Noya teased.

“Not in a million years.”

“Basically, we look through this magazine of eligible alphas and then tell Takeda which ones we’d like to request a date with. We choose from a list of activities that are deemed safe for us in the outside world environment, then Takeda lines up a day that the alpha can take us out. The alpha pays, since we don’t have any money obviously, and if we didn’t like the date, we can either try again or never see the alpha again in that capacity. We’re in control and the alphas are aware of it from the start.” Tsukishima explained. “It’s a nice system.”

“We’ll hesitantly agree to these three alphas,” Oikawa decided. “If they hurt you though, just say the word and we’ll take care of everything else on our end.”

“I don’t know, Tsukishima bashed in that hunter’s head with a pipe. I’m sure he could fuck them up on his own.” Nishinoya complimented with a short laugh. It was the first time they brought up their failed escape from the underground since arriving at the sanctuary.

“Where’s the list of date activities?” Suga tried to push them past the topic of their capture. “We need to decide on something fun for you to do.”

“Do you think Kuroo-san will have any input on who you date?” Hinata glanced through the pictures of alphas and stopped on a particularly grumpy, black haired one. “This one is scary.”

“He looks familiar.” Oikawa’s brows crinkled together. “Maybe I knew him in middle school? I kind of wiped a lot of my past out of my mind to try and make being in the omega house a little easier.”

“I’m sure Takeda-san will run it by Kuroo-san, but I don’t think he’ll have any input. That would go against the idea that I get to choose who I want to be in a relationship with.”

“Oh look, this would be a fun date. Dinner and a museum tour. Tsukishima, you like museums, right?”

“I did, before I presented. I wonder what’s changed out there.”

“I say you should do that date, since it’s something you’ll probably enjoy. Plus, the atmosphere is good for getting to know someone.” Akaashi leaned forward till he could brush the scent gland on his neck across the blond’s hair.

“Okay, dinner and a museum tour with—Terushima Yūji.” Tsukishima stood up. “I’ll go see if I can get this set up.”

“He’s growing up so fast.” Tanaka jokingly pretended to wipe away tears.

* * *

Kuroo’s bad work day led to a foul mood. He was ready to relax at home, but Kenma’s heat was approaching again and if it started, he wouldn’t have that luxury. Everything was in place for the omega and Daichi called earlier to say he had the extra guest futon set up and ready for when it was needed.

He fumbled with his keys as he approached the stairs in his apartment building and prayed that he wouldn’t smell Kenma’s heat pheromones. He needed a hot bath and some heartburn medication. Tetsurō didn’t feel like asking to take Daichi’s medication or hogging his bathroom all night.

When he got to his apartment door, he couldn’t smell anything other than a satisfied omega and perhaps one of his friends. He figured they must’ve stopped over to make sure that Kenma was taken care of. He put the key in the lock and as the door clicked open, he heard a thud and harried pained whispers.

“Kenma?”

“Ah, welcome home, Kuro.” Kenma’s voice sounded muffled and the alpha’s eyebrows knit together.

“Are you alright? It didn’t smell like your heat kicked in.”

“Yeah, about that. I am kind of in heat.”

“Did I catch a cold between this morning and now?”

“No, just, hold on.” Kenma squeaked. Kuroo heard the coffee table shift across the floor and he took the moment to set down his keys on the small shelf in the genkan before he pulled off his shoes.

“Do you want me to fix you dinner since your heat isn’t bothering me?”

“Can you make enough for three?”

“Okay, what the fuck is going on?”

“I’m—uh—kind of stuck to Yamamoto right now.”

Kuroo pulled off his workbag and stepped up into the apartment where he had a clear view of the living room and Yamamoto Taketora’s ass. “You’re fucking kidding me right now.”

“Yeah, so we’re bonded now—which is why you can’t smell my heat pheromones. We’re stuck like this until his knot goes down.” Kenma twisted his torso to peer between the couch and the alpha’s shoulder at his childhood best friend.

Yamamoto kept his eyes trained on the ground and he looked terrified.

“When his knot does go down, I’m kicking his ass all the way to America.”

“Don’t hurt him, it was my idea. I called him over and told him where to find the spare key.” Kenma whimpered in pleasure when he tried to pull away from the alpha and instead aroused the alphas knot and another hot spurt of cum shot into him.

“Look, I’m going to go get some heartburn medication. I’m praying that by the time I get back, you’ll be unattached to each other, dressed, and ready to have a discussion about why either of you thought this was a good idea.”

“Fear has shot my balls into the stratosphere, but it’s done nothing for my knot.” Taketora whispered. Kenma chuckled and nuzzled up into the alpha with a soft kiss.

Kuroo found the medicine he needed in the bathroom, but he took longer than necessary. He didn’t want to have to go back out and face them after his long day at work—but he had to.

When Tetsurō walked back into the living room, Kenma was wrapped up in a blanket on the couch and Yamamoto was in the middle of tugging up his pants. He was shirtless when he took his seat on the couch, still looking around for where his shirt ended up. The omega scooted over into the alpha’s lap and tucked himself into the space under his chin.

“Now that my heart isn’t threatening horrible vomit, I have only one question. Why?”

“We wanted to be together, but you wouldn’t let us.” Kenma stated. Kuroo made to open his mouth, but he was stopped by the omega. “You have these ideals that you wanted to hold us to, because that’s what you hold yourself to. We don’t have those same standards. Yes, I know how omegas are mistreated in our society—I am an omega. Yes, Tora isn’t an alpha like you, he’s a little more traditionalist, but I’m fine with that.

“We made our feelings clear to you Kuroo and you pushed us into doing things your way instead of allowing us to build our relationship in the way we wanted.” Kozume took a short breath. “When my heat was setting in, I knew I had to do something. My being around holds you back from being able to move forward with your life. I already messed up your opportunity to connect with that omega that you like at the sanctuary. Tora and I like each other. I called him and now we’re mates. I’ll be out of your way and I can live the life I’ve wanted, but never been able to tell you I wanted because I knew how you’d react. Please, just understand from our side that we’re doing what’s right for us.”

Kuroo put his face in his hands and let out a long exhale. “I can’t exactly do anything about it now considering that stupid claim mark on your neck.”

His phone went off in his pocket and he pulled it out to find it was a phone call from the Ukai residence. He picked up immediately.

“Hello?”

“Kuroo-san? This is Ittetsu.”

“It’s good to hear from you. Is there something wrong?”

“No, no, nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to let you know that Tsukishima-kun selected someone for his first date outside the sanctuary. I thought you might want to know in case he wants to buy any new clothes.”

“Fuck.” Kuroo expelled into the phone.

“Sorry?”

“Not directed toward you in any way, Ittetsu-san. Let me know if he needs anything. I’ll have to call you later to talk about it more—I’m dealing with something on my end.”

“Of course, I understand. I look forward to hearing from you later.”

Tetsurō hung up the phone and looked at the pair on the couch. “You’ll be more comfortable at Yamamoto’s apartment. You should go.”

“Is everything okay?”

“No, Tsukishima has a date. Just—leave me alone for a while. I need to figure out what to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a snow day on Monday and instead of being productive, I spent most of the day shoveling snow and playing video games. I hate myself for that.


	17. Chapter 17

“Tsukishima-kun!” Ittetsu yelled across the yard. “I have news about your date.”

“Is it good news?”

“It is—but Kuroo-san has a request for you.”

“Oh?”

“He wants to chaperone the date—or rather play bodyguard. He’s worried that an unmated omega might get themselves into trouble, even while on a date with an alpha. He has a friend who took in an omega on the run and apparently the omega can barely go anywhere without a bite mark. Kuroo-san just wants to make sure that you have adequate protection if anything were to go wrong.”

Tsukishima was quiet for a long moment and the other omegas in his pack glanced between him and Takeda. He took an unsteady breath before he said, “that makes sense. I accept his proposition and look forward to my date with Terushima-san.”

“Yes! Great. I will let them both know. You’re all set-up for Saturday.”

* * *

To say that his date was not going well, would be a severe understatement. It was absolutely miserable. Terushima was much too loud for a museum and his inappropriate comments about the art made Tsukishima disappointed that he picked this particular alpha to go on his first date with. It wasn’t leaving a good impression for the other alphas.

Every so often, he caught a glimpse of Kuroo in one of the exhibits examining the art himself. He pursed his lips and cursed his brain for wishing he was on the date with Kuroo instead. The alpha already had an omega.

“Man, how much longer is this tour? I’m getting hungry from all this walking around.”

“I’m not sure.” Tsukishima consulted the guide they were given at the beginning before he tuned into the tour guide’s mantra.

“This particular piece here is a tattoo skin preserved from a member of the Ushijima-kumi after their death. You can see in the particular pattern here the design that indicates their samurai heritage. The difference between these tattoos and common ones from this era, mostly seen on foreigners, is that these are designed by hand with hand crafted tools that date back several centuries. These tattoos take much longer to apply and they are more painful because of their handcrafted nature.”

Kei looked back at the guide and noticed that they still had more than half of the museum to go through and that it would be another couple hours minimum with Terushima at his side. He clenched his teeth and prayed to whatever gods might be out there that the date would end early. If the alpha abandoned him, he wouldn’t care. Kuroo was there only a few feet away.

“Do you find any of this interesting?” Terushima pointed at one of the artifact magazines the Ushijima-kumi volunteered as a display piece for the museum.

“Yes, actually.” Kei whispered bravely. The alpha didn’t act like he heard him and moved away down the hallway to look at one of the other pieces.

“They need to get someone better to handcraft their tattoos. This art is all the yucky old style. Imagine if they put some anime characters into their tattoos—now that’d be more modern—and they’d still be outcasts.” He commented loudly.

Tsukishima frowned. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kuroo move forward to intercept his date. The omega hoped he was talking some sense into his date so that it would decrease the annoying comments. He politely turned to face one of the displays and focused on the plaque below it. The particular item was a beautifully, handcrafted knife with a rigid blade. It was apparently a couple centuries old and was primarily the tool of the kumichō—handed down between different heads of the syndicate.

As he turned to follow the tour guide to the next section, and look for Terushima, an unwanted hand grabbed his ass.

“What’s an unmated omega doing wandering around? Looking for a mate?”

“No, thank you.” Tsukishima pushed his hand away. “I’m on a date.”

“Omegas don’t date.” The alpha laughed darkly. “All it takes is one bite and you’ll be the great number twenty-seven in my harem.”

“Sorry, I don’t do any other number except one.”

“You will in a second.” The man growled.

A rough, possessive growl cut their conversation short. They both looked up to find Kuroo with a ferocious expression on his face. Another territorial growl echoed out of his chest; the smell of juniper flooded the hallway. The people stopped to stare at the trio. It only took a couple moments before the harassing alpha skittered off through the museum.

“Are you alright, Tsukishima?”

“I’m fine.” He curled into the smell and wished that the alpha wasn’t mated.

“You don’t have to lie to me.” Kuroo sighed. “You’ve been disappointed with this whole date and then you got harassed.”

“It’s not that I haven’t like the date, it’s just with the wrong person.”

“Well, I had a talk with Terushima about his behavior. He promised to try and be better at least for the remainder of the date. If you want to go back to the sanctuary now, I won’t blame you. I’ll escort you back myself.”

“I would like to finish the tour.”

“Okay, Terushima’s waiting for you at the end of the hall.”

“Thank you, Kuroo-san.”

“Anything to make sure you enjoy yourself.” He smiled.

* * *

Terushima was kinder for the rest of the date and he didn’t make any scathing remarks about the artifacts in the museum. Dinner was a fairly quiet affair and by the end of the date it was late into the night.

“I’m sorry if I made the first part of the date miserable for you.” The alpha apologized at the end of the night.

“It happens—I’m sure you were just nervous.” He tried to brush off.

“Yes, we’ll go with that story.”

“Thank you for tolerating the date, at least.”

“I’m sorry you got harassed.” Terushima shoved his hands in his pockets. “Let me walk you back to Kuroo so he can take you back to the sanctuary.”

“Thank you, again.”

The alpha did as he said and returned him to his purchaser with a smile. Kuroo stared at the streets with a frown on his face.

“Is there something wrong?”

“The date ended later than originally planned and it’s dark out.” The alpha barely glanced at him.

“That’s what happens when the sun goes down. It’s called night.” Tsukishima replied without thinking. It drew a short laugh out of Kuroo.

“I’m worried about taking you back safely this late at night. I don’t know if we can make it to the parking without some of the scum of the earth approaching us.”

“What do you propose instead?”

“If you don’t mind, my apartment is closer than the parking area. You can stay over for the night and I’ll take you back to Ukai’s in the morning.”

“In your apartment?” Tsukishima’s eyes widened. “You have a mate at home—won’t that make them jealous?”

“Ah, no, I don’t have a mate.”

“But, Ittetsu-san said you had an omega at home and that was why you weren’t in the eligible alpha booklet.”

“Well, I did have an omega at home, but he wasn’t my mate. He was my best friend from childhood and he lived there to stay safe. Recently, he took matters into his own hands and got mated to another one of my alpha friends. My apartment is empty.”

“Oh, I see.”

“If you’re okay with it, you can stay there for the night. I have a guest room. If not, we’ll take the longer walk and I’ll take you back tonight.”

“I—” Tsukishima tugged at his fingers. “I want to see your apartment. If you’re really okay with letting me stay.”

“I am, let me just call Ukai and let him know. We’ll walk while I talk.” Kuroo held out his hand. Kei stared at it with uncertainty. “We need to stay close and if we’re holding hands, it’ll deter the more easily scared alphas.”

The omega nodded and put his hand in Kuroo’s. They started to walk through the dark streets and for a moment, Tsukishima could fool himself that this was something more than protection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When did this fic get to 17 chapters? Where was I at?


	18. Chapter 18

Kuroo’s apartment was quite nice, Tsukishima decided once he was sat on the couch in the living room.

“Do you want any tea?” The alpha called from the kitchen.

“Sure.”

It was a few minutes before Kuroo joined him and set the tea tray on the coffee table.

“I’m sorry if I pushed you into sleeping here tonight.”

“You didn’t.” Tsukishima took his cup of tea, then curled up in a corner of the couch. “This is honestly, a better part of my date.”

“Did you not enjoy your time with Terushima?”

“It was better after you talked to him, but I realized that I picked the wrong alpha to go on that kind of a date with.”

“Are you going to give him another chance?”

“I don’t know.” Kei sipped at his tea. “I don’t feel I’m really compatible with his excessive loudness about everything. Even during dinner, I was worried we’d be bothering others.”

“It is important to find someone that your personality meshes with.” The alpha agreed with a small smile. “My friends used to stay over sometimes, so I should have a spare toothbrush around somewhere and you can take a bath if you feel comfortable with that. While you relax, I’ll go get everything prepared.”

“Thank you,” the omega focused on his tea.

Kuroo moved around the apartment, making as little noise as possible as he found clean bathroom products for the omega to use. He still hadn’t thrown out Kenma’s sets and as he put a toothbrush into the holder for Tsukishima, he grabbed the blue one, stared at it, then tossed it into the trash.

Yamamoto and Kenma made the decision to force him to let go. He needed to actually do that in order to move on and be able to find his own partner in the future. He looked through the bathroom cabinet for any other things of Kenma’s that weren’t reusable and quickly threw them into the trash.

“Tsukishima, do you need anything to build a temporary nest? I don’t think I have much unscented stuff, but I can look around.”

“I’ll be fine for one night. My nest at the sanctuary is more communal with the others in my pack, anyway.”

“Do you guys need materials to build your own nests?” Kuroo walked down the hall and leaned against the wall. “I can get it for you.”

“I don’t know what we’d do with individual nests. We’ve been sharing ever since we went underground.” Tsukishima set down his cup and peered over the back of the couch at the alpha. “When we lived at Tanaka’s we had our own nests, but it’s been a long time since then.”

“You lived somewhere else before the underground?”

“I’m from Miyagi originally.” Tsukishima explained softly. “When I presented, my father was going to sell me—but my brother took me before he could. Apparently when he got to the omega house, he realized what would happen there and he was stuck with me in heat and no clue what to do. He ended up meeting Tanaka’s older sister and she had a basement full of omegas since her brother presented as one.”

“That sounds like a great place to live. It was lucky she found you.”

“It was really good—I met most of my current pack there. We moved to Tokyo when my brother and Saeko-nee-san went to college there. It all came to an end when the omega hunters got wind of us staying there.”

“Did they capture you?” Kuroo sat down on the other end of the couch.

Tsukishima shook his head. “Saeko-nee-san planned for an escape route if it became necessary. She raised the alarm and we packed the necessities and ran. We ended up in the heart of the city and then we found the maintenance entrance where Oi—the underground group was staying.”

Kuroo’s eyebrows furrowed. “You almost gave me your mysterious packmate’s name, didn’t you?”

“Don’t tell him—he doesn’t want anyone to know yet. We’re waiting until he’s ready.”

“I won’t—one syllable doesn’t tell me anything.” The alpha smiled. “So, you met more of your pack in the underground?”

“Yes, the nameless one and Akaashi-kun.” Tsukishima adjusted his position so he faced Kuroo more directly. “Akaashi lost his packmates when we started getting sick.”

“They were part of the dead omegas your group left on the street?”

Kei nodded. “Akaashi is one of my closest packmates now—but for a while he had no one.”

“You’ve lived a harder life than most people out working for a living day in and day out.”

“My story is one of the better ones. Most of my pack has the horror stories of what happened to them. I think Tanaka and I were the only ones to get off with only experiencing life in the underground.”

“Have the others talked to Ukai about their experiences?”

“Suga and Nishinoya have, they’re probably the next ones after Tanaka and I with the easier life.”

“Can I ask for their stories?”

Tsukishima shrugged. “Nishinoya ended up in an omega house, but he managed to escape before his second heat, so he never saw a day on the floor. Sugawara was born in a beta breeding house and when he presented as an omega, he was being transferred between beta house and omega house when he knocked out the guard and escaped.”

“I just can’t imagine it.”

“Suga’s really strong.”

“It’s not that,” Kuroo chuckled. “I’ve grown up in this privileged world where one day my classmates disappear and I hear whisperings of omegas, but I never really got to see what it was all about. I was praised for being an alpha and lived my life without thinking too much about it. When Kenma presented, I realized I didn’t want him to be taken away—not because I wanted him for myself, but because I knew that omegas vanished.

“I decided to take care of him, but never really understood what happened to omegas that didn’t garner that protection until one day in university when I met this guy named Iwaizumi. He’d spent years at this point looking for his childhood best friend who presented as an omega and was sold to an omega house. When he explained to me what went on there, it shocked me.

“I ended up meeting his friends and some of them had come from similar backgrounds as me. We all came together and decided that we needed to do something to help protect omegas since we knew of the bad that would come to them. Daichi knew one of his ex-coaches from high school was an advocate for omega rights and reached out to him about it. Turns out, he was already running a business to hide omegas from terrible fates and so we all bought into it. We help fund the sanctuary with our paychecks—and now I’m sponsoring this group of seven omegas that protected the rest of their underground pack at the risk of being captured and sold on the black market.”

“Your story makes you sound incredibly noble.” Tsukishima smirked.

“You’re a lot snarkier than I thought you would be. I was impressed with how you shut down that alpha at the museum too.”

“I was surprised he managed to scare twenty-six omegas into letting him claim them with that weak approach.” The omega scoffed.

“Is that what he boasted? A personal harem of twenty-six? That’s disgusting.”

Kei nodded softly and glanced at the clock on the wall. The numbers blurred together and he realized he was getting sleepy.

“It’s getting late. I’ll show you where the bathroom is and where you’ll sleep. You can get ready for bed at your own pace. I set out a pair of my own pajamas for you since Kenma was a much smaller omega than you.”

“Thank you, again, for everything you’ve done.”

“You’re welcome.” The alpha nodded and helped him stand on tired legs before he gave him a quick tour of the apartment.

Tsukishima curled into the smell of the pajamas Kuroo let him borrow before he tucked himself under the covers of the bed. It was different from a nest, but comfortable. The only downside was the small hint of juniper in the sheets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBH I've had the scene where Tsukishima and Yamaguchi meet each other again partially written out forever. It just hasn't fit into the plot yet. It just hangs out at the end of my document while I type all of this other story.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this chapter's plot point planned out for FOREVER.

_The door to the underground hideout burst open and alphas poured through the door. The omegas in their pack screamed as they escaped out of the main maintenance room into the subway tunnels. Tsukishima saw Oikawa grab a metal pipe from their trash pile. The older omega swung it at one of the alphas holding one of the children and the alpha dropped their capture. Akaashi ushered them to the escape point as fast as he could._

_Tsukishima grabbed one of the spare, steel, rebar bars from reinforcing the wall and lifted it as a weapon. He saw the other omegas in his main pack follow his lead and they created a barrier between the alphas and the escape point._

_The omega hunters slowed their approach, which allowed the others in the underground group to make it into the subway tunnels._

_The alpha on the far right reached out and grabbed the end of Oikawa’s pipe. He ripped it from the omega’s grip and swung it at him._

_Tsukishima watched in slow motion as the hunter swung the weapon in a downward arc. It cut a long gash into his right forearm and Oikawa cried out in pain. He fell to the ground and clutched his arm._

_In a panic, Kei swung his own weapon at the attacking alpha and rebar embedded itself in the alpha’s head. The omega gasped and let go of the metal; he watched as the alpha’s body fell to its back and stared at the ceiling blankly. Blood dripped down the alpha’s face and Tsukishima stumbled back to stand over Oikawa still crying on the ground._

_The other alphas turned on them with hungry looks in their eyes and the omegas shivered under the stare. Noya’s hands shook as he raised his own weapon as a threat. Tsukishima made to grab Oikawa and drag him away from the hunters, but a hand jumped out and grabbed his leg._

_Kei turned in surprise to find the alpha he hit with the rebar with a hold on him. His head tilted to the side and the rebar fell away. It revealed the gash Tsukishima left with his makeshift weapon and he vomited in his mouth._

_“Where are you going, you bitch?” The alpha asked with a garbled voice._

_The omega screamed and tried to tug his leg back, but instead he was pulled to the ground and the alpha lowered himself on top of Tsukishima. The soft smell of juniper overwhelmed his senses._

Kei woke up screaming, cradled in Kuroo’s arms as the alpha pet him softly. He made soft shushing noises and pulled him closer into his chest.

“It’s okay. You’re fine. You’re safe here.” Tetsurō whispered. “I have you.”

Tsukishima’s body convulsed as he opened into a full sob fest into Kuroo’s chest.

“It was just a nightmare. You’re safe here. No one is going to hurt you.”

A pounding on the front door of Kuroo’s apartment interrupted Tsukishima’s crying.

The alpha sighed. “I better go see who it is. Do you want to come or stay here?”

Kei looked at him with wide eyes before he latched his hand onto Kuroo’s shirt and stared at the duvet.

“Okay, come with me, stay behind me. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

It turned out to be one of Kuroo’s neighbors, irate with the screaming from his apartment. The alpha apologized and explained that the omega woke up from a nightmare and couldn’t help it. The beta woman was still mad and Tetsurō had to eventually close the door in her face.

“She’s scary.” Kei commented quietly from behind the alpha.

“Are you okay?”

“No,” he pressed himself into Kuroo’s back.

“Do you want some more tea?”

“Yes, I think that will help.”

“Are you going to be okay sitting on the couch, or do you want to come into the kitchen with me?” Kuroo turned around to face the omega. He had one hand on Tsukishima’s cheek and he seemed more at ease.

“I want to stay with you.”

“Okay, no problem.” Kuroo led him into the kitchen and went about making tea, letting the omega be comfortable after his nightmare.

Once they were sat on the couch again, the omega curled up into his side and sipped at his tea.

“Your scent is really calming.”

“I’m glad you find it that way.” Tetsurō put his arm around the omega and rubbed circles into his arm. “Do you want to talk about your nightmare?”

“It was about the day that we got captured by the omega hunters.” Tsukishima leaned further into the alpha and closed his eyes.

“That’s certainly a traumatic experience.” Kuroo adjusted his posture so that the omega laid across him. “What about it made you scared enough to wake the neighbors?”

“I—”

It was quiet. “Am I prying too much?”

“No—it’s just—I killed someone that day.”

“I heard from the crowd that one of the omegas had killed one of the hunters. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier that you managed to take one of those sick sons of bitches out of his world.” In a bold, daring move, he quickly moved forward and pressed a kiss to the top of Tsukishima’s head.

The omega’s eyes shot open and he stared at Kuroo with flushed cheeks.

“I—I dreamed that he hadn’t died and that he grabbed me and tried to violate me.” Tears spilled down his cheeks. “But then, I smelled you and I didn’t feel so scared anymore.”

Tetsurō wiped away his tears. “Then, I’m glad I helped by running into your room.”

“Kuroo-san, can I ask you a question you might not want to answer?”

“You can, I’m not sure I can guarantee an answer.”

“I understand that.” Kei’s hands balled into fists, he closed his eyes, and took a steadying breath.

Kuroo watched the subtle signs of the omega’s body as he tried to steel himself for the question. He tried not to think about how Tsukishima’s body fit easily against his, or how nice it was to have him seek comfort in the alpha’s presence.

“Do you like me?”

That was not the question Kuroo expected. He swallowed and stared softly at the omega. Tsukishima looked like he might cry again.

“It may sound silly, but I’ve liked you ever since I first met you. You had a really nice scent and you weren’t mean to us on the street. Instead you helped us get the things we needed to help Suga and you bought me a sweatshirt that would help hide us from the alphas for longer.

“Then you saw us get captured, and so, you paid for us to be brought to the sanctuary. I was really happy to see you again—but then, when I asked Takeda-san about you, he said you already had an omega and I was crushed. Here you are actually without an omega and I just feel confused again. You’re being incredibly kind, but I don’t know if it’s because you’re just trying to take care of some omega with a horrible life living on the street, or if it’s because it’s me.”

Tsukishima took a breath to speak again, but the alpha cut him off with a soft and warm kiss to his lips. He panicked for only a second before he pressed back against Kuroo. Tetsurō’s hands moved to his back and pulled him closer.

“Of course, I like you.” Kuroo pulled away and chuckled when the omega chased after his lips. “I wanted to say something, but the sanctuary has its rules—plus, I had Kenma at home and I didn’t think it appropriate to date anyone when I was still sharing a space with him. He had nowhere else to go. You have no idea how pissed I was when I found out that you were going on a date with an alpha you chose. They weren’t me.”

“Did you make up the reason for wanting to go on my date with me?”

“No, no, I legitimately did want to provide extra protection. I’d do that with any of you guys when you go outside the sanctuary. Plus, it was a good thing I was there—especially with Terushima being an idiot.” Kuroo laughed and kissed him again.

“Now I have something happy to report back to my pack.”

“Yeah, the best thing.” The alpha laid back on the couch and watched as Tsukishima drifted off on top of him. “Kenma’s going to give me his ‘I told you so’ speech.”

“Tell him, ‘thank you’ from me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was something I had all planned out for this note... but now that I'm publishing the chapter, I can't remember what it was. If I remember, I'll try to put it on 'Youngblood' when it updates on Saturday.


	20. Chapter 20

Kuroo took Tsukishima back to the Sanctuary after feeding him breakfast and since the omega smelled heavily of the alpha—after they fell asleep with each other on the couch—no one bothered them despite the crowded early morning streets.

Takeda greeted the at the door and only took a moment to stare between them before he gestured for them to enter.

“I thought Tsukishima-kun was on a date with Terushima-san, not you.”

“I was.” Kei agreed. “But he wasn’t exactly the best date for me. Kuroo-san rescued it and I liked him more.”

“I see.” Takeda walked to the door that led out to the garden. “I’ll let you two say goodbye for the day. Your pack is eager to know what happened.”

“I guess I should go let them know we’re dating.” The omega glanced up at the alpha out of the corner of his eye.

Kuroo had a soft smile on his face as he grabbed Tsukishima’s hand and interlaced their fingers. “Let me know when you want to go on a date.”

“I will.” Before he turned away, Kei pressed a quick kiss to the corner of Kuroo’s mouth.

Tetsurō floated on air the entire way to work.

* * *

“You smell like Kuroo.” Was the first thing Sugawara said to him when he met up with his pack in the courtyard.

“Yeah, I have something to tell you guys.”

“Oh?” Akaashi sat up straighter on the porch.

“The date with Terushima didn’t exactly end well—we weren’t a match in person.”

“We can keep looking through the magazine.” Nishinoya picked it up. “There was a couple other alpha’s you liked.”

“Well, I don’t need it.” He took a deep breath. “Kuroo-san and I are dating now.”

“You went on a date with Terushima, but you ended up in a relationship with Kuroo?” Oikawa held up his fingers and pretended to try and draw a map between the two points.

“It was too late last night to bring me back to the Sanctuary without risking a second alpha attack that day—I’ll explain that later—so Kuroo-san took me back to his apartment. I had a nightmare about the day we were captured by the omega hunters and he woke me up and comforted me. I ended up confessing that I liked him and turns out he liked me too.”

“What about the omega he had at home?” Hinata pitched in.

“Turns out, it was just his childhood friend that he was protecting. His friend was mated recently to an alpha, so Kuroo-san considers himself free to date since he’s not caring for him anymore.”

“Wow, that’s a misunderstanding and a handful.” Suga scooted off the porch onto the grass. “So, about that first alpha attack?”

“It wasn’t so much an attack, as a harasser.” Kei joined them on the ground. “Terushima-san wandered away while looking at the art in the museum and some asshole alpha with his own personal harem came up to me. Kuroo-san scared him away pretty quick.”

“So, we know Kuroo-san is at least a good alpha.” Noya decided.

“I’m glad that it didn’t turn out worse for you, Tsukishima.” Akaashi smiled. “Congratulations on your new relationship.”

* * *

A few days later brought a new surprise for Tsukishima.

It was a normal day at the sanctuary, he waited for Kuroo to get off work and come visit him. The alpha decided he would make it a new necessity in his daily routine, and the omega couldn’t find it in himself to complain—despite what he would say—because it allowed him to get to know the alpha better. He was even kind and met with his packmates if they wanted to come along.

Tsukishima was out in the courtyard with his packmates when a fairly large group stepped out onto the alpha portion of the balcony near the main house. They sat respectfully at the tables and talked about their normal day to day activities while paying the omegas no mind.

They all watched them carefully, curious as to what event brought them all to have lunch on the porch at the sanctuary. There were two omegas on the porch mixed in with the alphas and betas, which made it a little odder. One of the omegas from the sanctuary courtyard joined them for lunch.

“Maybe they’re having a date here at the sanctuary?” Suga suggested.

“Why would they bring all those extra people, though?” Hinata hid himself behind Tsukishima.

An omega on the porch stood up, his black hair glittered in the filtered sunlight and a familiar cowlick sticking straight up. Kei took several quick steps toward the porch.

“Yamaguchi?” Tsukishima blinked hazily at the figures on the porch.

“Tsukki!” The small boy with dark brown hair broke away from the group, raced down the stairs, and threw himself around the blond. “It’s you! I can’t believe you’re here.”

“What are you—? How?”

“I’m here with my mate—we’re meeting the omega one of his family members is dating.” Tadashi grinned. “But you! How’d you get here?”

“Long story.” The omega laughed. “I was told you were sold to pay your family’s debt to the yakuza by my brother.”

“I was—my mate’s father bought me for his son.”

“So, you—” Tsukishima cleared his throat. “Do you like being with him?”

“I do! He’s not a bad guy. He was going to bring me here, but that got delayed because of some things he had to take care of and along the way we fell in love and actually mated.”

“You’re a yakuza spouse?”

“Yes, we’ve only just started on my tattoos. I’m getting the same ones as my mate. I’m really happy with him. Especially since I knew that he was going to bring me to the sanctuary and let me free—basically paying off my family’s debt for free.”

“That’s really nice of him.”

“Do you want to meet him?” Yamaguchi pulled him toward the porch.

“I guess I already am.”

The omega pulled him up onto the porch and over to a large alpha with a monotone expression. Kei could see how his posture shifted and his eyes lit up when he caught sight of Yamaguchi, however, and he was happy that the alpha indeed liked his old childhood friend.

“Tsukki, this is my mate, Ushijima Wakatoshi.” He gestured to the large alpha. “Wakatoshi, this is my best friend from childhood, Tsukishima Kei.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” The omega bowed politely.

“My omega has told me a lot about you.” The alpha returned. “You smell like you have a mate.”

Tsukishima turned a light shade of pink. “We’re still dating.”

“What’s his name?”

“Kuroo Tetsurō.”

Yamaguchi hummed. “I don’t recognize it—but then I’m only really familiar with names from other yakuza groups.”

“I know you’re having a meeting, but do you want to meet my pack?” Tsukishima pointed back at the group of omegas he left behind.

“Yes!” The omega cheered. He turned around to the cute, female omega that was from the sanctuary. “Yuna-chan, it was lovely meeting you briefly.”

“Ah, you too, Yamaguchi-sama.” She squeaked.

“Yuna-chan is dating Goshiki, he’s part of Toshi’s main family. We all came to meet her today, which is why we’re having lunch. She requested to meet us, of course.”

“Lovely.”

“Tsukishima, who’s this?”

“This is Yamaguchi. He’s my friend from childhood in Miyagi before we both presented.”

“Yamaguchi Tadashi!” The omega introduced with a bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet Tsukki’s pack. Thank you for taking care of him.”

“The pleasure is ours.” Akaashi smiled at him. “Come sit with us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... enter Yamaguchi!


	21. Chapter 21

They talked to the omega long past when the main group left. The omega long returning to her portion of the sanctuary housing. They didn’t hear a single complaint out of Ushijima. He merely remained on the porch watching them without interruption. He occasionally answered a call on his cellphone, but he never made any move to invade the yard.

“Are you sure your mate is okay with you hanging out with us this long?” Tsukishima nudged Yamaguchi with his foot.

“If Toshi was upset, I’d know.” The omega laughed. “He seems really quiet and stoic, but right now he looks relaxed and happy.”

 _His face looks the same as when we met_ , Kei thought.

“There aren’t a lot of omegas in the yakuza—most parents try to get their good alpha stock to mate with an alpha woman or beta woman. Especially since in order to get an omega, you have to buy them young and between heats from an omega house or off the black market where their pedigree is less certain. I think he’s happy that I have some people I can talk to since I’m usually only ever hanging around him and the others in the main family.”

“There was another omega earlier.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s Tendō. He’s hard for me to get along with because of his personality. I don’t talk with him much.”

“That’s disappointing.”

“It is, but I have Toshi and he’s really sweet.” Yamaguchi looked back to the porch at his mate as another alpha walked out onto the porch. “Who’s that?”

Tsukishima’s face lit up just a little. “My alpha.”

“Let’s go meet him!” The omega jumped up and pulled Tsukishima with him.

“I don’t remember you being this excitable when we were teenagers.”

“I changed a little after being a yakuza bride—sorry if it annoys you.” He glanced back at the ground and dropped Kei’s hand.

“It’s not that—I was surprised since you seemed more timid back then.”

“I was more afraid back then and I used you as a protector since you saved me from those bullies. Once you were gone and I presented, if I didn’t change, I wouldn’t survive.”

“I like this change in you. It suits you.”

“Thank you, Tsukki!”

“Tsukki?” Kuroo leaned over the balcony railing.

“Nickname from my childhood friend.” He tugged at his fingers. “This is Yamaguchi Tadashi. We grew up with each other in Miyagi.”

“Pleasure to meet you, I’m Kuroo Tetsurō.” The alpha bowed politely.

Ushijima stood up from his table and walked over. He bowed as well. “Ushijima Wakatoshi, Tadashi is my husband.”

“Ushijima—of the Ushijima-kumi?”

“Yes.” He looked at his omega. “Are you ready to go? We have a party tonight we need to attend.”

“Can we come back again soon?”

“Of course, I would hate to keep you from your friend.” He put out his hand and Yamaguchi took it.

“I’ll see you later, Tsukki!”

Tsukishima mounted the steps up to the porch until he stood at Kuroo’s side.

The alpha pinched his side softly—it made him tingle, almost aroused by the action.

“How are you today?”

“Better—I’m really happy to have found out what happened to Yamaguchi.”

“I’m glad that you found your friend. It means that one more person is safe.” Kuroo leaned in a little closer. “Do you want to go inside?”

“Why? It’s a nice afternoon.”

“It is, but to be honest, I feel a little uncomfortable kissing you with your packmates staring at me.”

“Do they intimidate you?” Tsukishima smirked.

“Yes, actually.”

“Why would they intimidate you?” The omega leaned against the railing and crossed his legs.

“You guys survived on your own—with basically nothing to your name—in an underground system. From what you’ve told me, you guys were the sole group that stayed back and protected the rest of your underground pack while they escaped.” Kuroo looked out at the sky. “If you guys wanted—you could gang up on me and hurt me. So, yeah, I’m a little intimidated by your packmates.”

“They’ll only hurt you if you hurt me.” Tsukishima rested his hand near Kuroo’s, but looked in the opposite direction.

“That’s what I’m most scared of.”

“Huh?”

“Hurting you.” Kuroo put two fingers under Tsukishima’s chin and gently pulled his face around until their eyes met. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“If you do, I know how to use a pipe.” Kei smiled weakly.

“Good thing I don’t have any of those lying around.” Tetsurō took the omega’s hand in his and pulled him toward the house. “Come on, I really want to kiss you.”

Tsukishima laughed and allowed the man to pull him into one of the small meeting rooms set up with a soft couch and table.

Kuroo locked the door behind them, then his lips were on Tsukishima’s. The omegas arms came up around his neck and his fingers tangled in the wild black locks.

The alpha’s breathing deepened. He brought his hands up to the omega’s back and pressed his body harder against his own. Tetsurō pushed his tongue against Kei’s lips and the omega opened his mouth. Their tongues met in the middle and they furiously tried to take control of the kiss.

Tsukishima won and celebrated by pulling the alpha over to the couch.

Kuroo sat down and pulled the omega into his lap. Kei gasped and pulled away which allowed Tetsurō to put his mouth on the blond’s jaw and suck a little mark into place. His teeth grazed skin as he worked his way to the omega’s neck where two of his scent glands rested. Tsukishima tugged on his hair harder and made small, pleased circles with his hips as the alpha licked and nipped at the glands under his jaw and behind his ear.

Kei let out a soft moan and bucked his hips forward. Kuroo chuckled softly and lowered his left hand to trail across the omega’s thigh. His fingers were soft as they passed over the material of Tsukishima’s pants until he reached back and kneaded his fingers into the omega’s ass.

“Kuroo-san,” Tsukishima pulled the man’s lips back to his.

“You can call me by my first name.” He rolled them over on the couch until Kuroo rested above him. The omega hummed and played with the alpha’s lower lip with his thumb. Tetsurō teasingly nipped at it before he pressed a soft kiss and dived back past his hand for the blond’s mouth.

“Tetsu—Tetsurō.” Kei pushed his hips up against one of Kuroo’s thighs and created friction as he dry-humped the alpha.

“Fuck.” He closed his eyes and tilted his head away from the omega.

“You okay?”

“Sorry, just trying to hold myself back from pushing this too far.” He buried his face in Tsukishima’s collarbone.

The omega played with the buttons on Kuroo’s shirt as he thought. The alpha’s warm breath on his skin sent small tingles down his spine. “Can I ask you something unrelated?”

“What’s bothering you?”

“Do you think you could find my brother?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The good news is that we now have an ending point for this story. I have finished writing it. I am now putting my focus on "Rebel", because once I've posted the entirety of this story, that will take this upload schedule. Please continue to support me--or don't if you don't like the story. Not offended whatsoever!
> 
> Just six more weeks of this story.


	22. Chapter 22

“You want me to find your brother?” Kuroo leaned back and sat down on the couch properly.

Tsukishima sat up and gave a furious nod. “I want to see him again—I want him to meet you. I want him to know that we’re all okay.”

“I can give it a try—but if it requires a private investigator, I don’t know if I have enough money to cover their fees.”

“I understand.” Kei pulled at his fingers and stared at the coffee table. A warm hand wrapped around his.

“I’m going to give it my all, okay?” Kuroo pressed another soft kiss to his mouth.

“I know you will. I’m just a little worried about what happens if you can’t find him—or even if you do.”

“You think you’re worried?” Tetsurō laughed and put his arms around the omega until he could crush him into his chest. “How about me? I’m going to have to call this guy up and be like: ‘yeah, I bought your brother off the black market and now I’m dating him—he wanted me to contact you.’”

Tsukishima laughed brightly and turned himself around so they faced each other. “You could do with explaining that a little more. You completely left out that you bought seven omegas.”

“Even better!” Kuroo pressed another kiss to the omega’s lips. “I think you’re just trying to get me killed.”

“And where would I be with that? Clearly, Terushima wasn’t a good mate for me.”

“Let’s not mention him.”

Tsukishima relaxed and laid down in the alpha’s arms. “Kuroo-san?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever think about having sex with me?”

“You’re asking me that after you dry-humped me?”

“Yes?” Kei buried his face into the alpha’s shoulder and breathed in the smell of juniper.

“I do think about it,” Tetsurō admitted. “They don’t exactly make alpha condoms, though, so, I don’t want to take this too far until you’re ready for the possibility that it might create something else—even when you’re not in heat.”

“Why don’t they have condoms for alphas?”

“There’s several reasons.” Kuroo’s fingers traced down his spine. “First, our anatomy is different from a beta. We get a thick knot at the base of our cock and when it inflates, it hooks on a male omega’s rectum to keep us locked together. We release a lot more semen for a longer period of time than a beta and the condom would need to inflate large enough to catch all of it.”

Tsukishima shuttered. “That’s why the heat aide toys have the knots on them at the end. The omegas from the omega houses kind of talked about that.”

“Exactly.” Kuroo agreed. “The second is that our society holds the view that if I’m going to have sex with you, then I’m going to be claiming you as mine and/or impregnating you. Obviously at the omega house, it’s all about the impregnation and the built-up biological need to just fuck something. Alphas are expected to claim an omega they find or buy as part of their potential harem and get them pregnant to increase the population and keep the cycle going. A lot of them abandon their young.”

“Oh.”

“It’s just—they have a harem just so they can have a variety of people to fuck without any emotion. They don’t care about anything post that. It is why omega houses take away the children from their omega parent. The omegas at those houses are for fucking, and then breeding as a side mechanic.” Kuroo shrugged. “It’s the horrid truth about the society we live in. So, yes, while I’ve thought about how I want to have sex with you—I’ve thought about all the other things that come with that expectation from my side, and I don’t want to do it until I’m sure that you’re ready to accept those consequences too.”

“You’re incredibly considerate.”

“I try my best.”

Tsukishima pushed himself up over the alpha’s body. “So, if I decide that I want to accept everything that comes to having sex with you in our messed-up society—you’ll do it?”

“Yes, but if you’re going to tell me right now, you’re okay with it, I’ll know you’re lying. I want you to think about it—and if you need, you can talk about it with your pack too and get their opinions.”

“Fine.” Kei laid back down.

“In the meantime, I’ll work on finding your brother.”

* * *

Kuroo sat down at his home computer and did an online search for the name “Tsukishima Akiteru”. It yielded a few results, but didn’t give him a lot he could chase. He pursed his lips and browsed through some of the information, but didn’t find anything that seemed like it was connected to the omega in the sanctuary. He remembered that Kei mentioned Tanaka had an older sister as well that helped them—but Tanaka was an overly common name and he figured it would yield too much to work with.

He tried to think back to the story Tsukishima shared about their life living with the Tanaka family before they were chased out of the house by omega hunters. He recalled their information about his brother and the older sister moving to Tokyo for college. He decided to narrow his searches to universities in the area and found a few results—one of which showed a graduation records with their names on it.

Curious, and perhaps reading into the situation too much, Kuroo decided to search the name “Tsukishima Saeko” and was surprised when a Facebook page popped up almost immediately. The woman in the picture was blonde with a fairly large bust and she stood next to a man with sandy blond hair. The longer Kuroo stared at the picture, he realized the man in the photo had similar features to Tsukishima—the same nose shape, eyebrows, and face shape.

He tried to click into the profile, but it was set to private. He couldn’t browse through the photos either to get an idea of the person’s past.

Feeling like it was worth a shot, he sent a message to her with his own profile.

**You don’t know me, but I’m trying to find someone. I’m looking for a Tsukishima Akiteru and a Tanaka Saeko. I have some important information for them. Do you know them?**

He leaned back in his chair and hoped that he would get a reply, even if it was a negative. Bored of staring at the computer screen, Kuroo decided to stand up and work on his dinner. He brought up a basic streaming service and turned on a random show he didn’t care to actually watch. He fixed enough for two people so he could have enough as a leftover lunch the next day.

As Tetsurō sat down to eat, he heard the notification of a message go off and he pulled the computer toward him. He flicked over to the messaging screen where a new notification from the woman he messaged sat.

**It depends on why you’re looking for them and what information you have.**

Kuroo snorted.

**I understand your reservations. If you’d like, we can meet in person to discuss the information. I will tell you, that it’s about their younger siblings.**

Scared it might be a person with ill intent, he tried to leave his message as vague as possible.

It was almost ten minutes before they replied back.

**They’ve agreed to meet with you on the terms that they choose the time and place.**

**I have no problem with that. Let me know the information. I look like my profile picture.**

He quickly scarfed down half of his dinner, eagerly anticipating a message that would bring him closer to helping the omegas in the sanctuary.

**Tomorrow at 1:00 PM. *address***

**See you then.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In all honesty... I have a fair amount of "Rebel" written... BUT it's all the stuff that comes after Iwaizumi and Oikawa meet up again for the first time and that's far into the plot of what I wanted to cover with "Rebel".


	23. Chapter 23

Kuroo made a stop at the sanctuary the next morning. He didn’t go inside too far, so he didn’t see Tsukishima, but he met with Ukai and got copies of the omega’s pictures—the ones that revealed their names, since they still didn’t have the leader’s name or personal background. Tetsurō carefully tucked the pictures into his work briefcase and then headed to his job.

He left for lunch early to make sure he was on time and at the correct address. When he walked in, he didn’t recognize anyone and no one waved to him. He ordered a sandwich from the front counter and sat down at an empty booth. Kuroo started eating his sandwich while he waited. At the designated time, two people wearing hats and sunglasses walked into the small restaurant. They both made a small order at the counter, then looked around. When they saw Kuroo, they made their way over and sat down across from him.

“Are you Kuroo Tetsurō?” The woman asked.

“I am—are you Tanaka-san?”

“Yes, this is Tsukishima.” She pointed at the man next to her. “You said you have information about our siblings.”

“I have some pictures here and I was curious to see who you recognized.” Kuroo pulled the pictures out of his bag and spread them out on the table between them.

Their postures changed as they recognized the faces.

“How do you have these?” Akiteru picked up the picture of Tsukishima.

“I’m not sure where to start with their story—but they are safe. I can take you to meet them, but there are a lot of things you need to know.”

“You trust that it’s us, then.” Saeko lowered her sunglasses.

“The first picture Tsukishima-san picked up was his little brother’s. I doubt an actor would be able to do it with that kind of reverence.”

“You’re clever.” She complimented.

“Thank you.” He watched calmly as they examined the pictures.

“I don’t recognize this person.” Saeko lifted the one of Akaashi.

“Good, you shouldn’t.” Kuroo grinned. “That’s someone they met after they left your house.”

“You know what happened to them after they ran?” Akiteru took off his sunglasses as well.

“I only know what Tsukishima has told me.”

“Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. He’s safe. Actually,” Tetsurō rubbed the back of his neck, “he asked me to find you. I wasn’t expecting to be able to do it as easily as I did.”

“Is Ryū with him too, then?” Saeko gave him a pleading look. She held the picture of the bald omega close to her chest.

“He is, everyone in these pictures is safe. There’s another one, but we don’t know his name or past, so I’m not allowed to release the picture of him.”

“Where are they?” Akiteru set the picture of his brother back on the table.

“Unless I know that we are in a secure location, I can’t give that information. You’re both aware of how omegas are treated in our society.”

“How did you find them?” Saeko gathered up the pictures and smiled at each of their faces.

“That’s something else I’d prefer not to talk about in public. If you’d like, you can come over to my apartment tonight and I can explain everything.”

“We can do that.” Saeko looked at Akiteru and he gave an affirmative nod.

“Here’s my address.” Kuroo scribbled it out on a piece of paper and slid it across the table. “I’ll be home around six tonight.”

“We’ll see you then.” The two stood up. “Thank you for bringing us this little bit of information.”

“You’re welcome, Tanaka-san. I look forward to seeing you later tonight.”

* * *

Kuroo decided to take the afternoon off work and visit the omegas at the sanctuary.

“You’re here really early.” Tsukishima greeted when their group met with him on the porch.

“I have some good news.” He smiled. “I found your brother and Tanaka’s sister.”

“You found our family?” Tanaka moved to the front of the group, Nishinoya on his heels.

“I did—I’m meeting with them tonight and I wondered if you would want to see them.”

“Yes!” Suga shouted from the back. “I’ve missed them. Please let us meet them.”

“We have to see them again.” Hinata pitched in.

“We have a lot to update them on—with the whole underground and now living here.” Noya grinned. “We can introduce them to our new friends too.”

“Who are these people?” Oikawa looked between them—worried that his name might slip out.

“My older brother,” Tsukishima offered.

“And my older sister,” Tanaka finished. “My sister was responsible for protecting us after we presented as omegas before the hideout was found and we had to escape and join you in the underground.”

“I would love to meet them,” Oikawa started, “but I’m still not comfortable with people knowing who I am.”

“That’s okay.” Suga pat him on the shoulder. “You can move at your own pace. If you don’t want to meet them, you don’t have to.”

“Now we just have to decide how to have you meet them.” Kuroo sat down at one of the tables.

“I have an idea.” Takeda offered from the doorway. “I trust you Kuroo and I think if you had Daichi and Ennoshita over at your apartment too, that you could take the omegas back to your apartment and have them surprise their family. Unnamed-san and Akaashi-kun could stay here with us—unless they want to go.”

“We’ll stay here.” Akaashi stood next to Oikawa. “You should have a night alone with your family.”

“Eventually, we’ll want you both to meet them.” Suga placated.

“Of course, just not tonight.”

“I have a flaw in your plan, Takeda,” Kuroo interrupted. “How am I supposed to get five unmated omegas to my apartment?”

“You can pretend like they’re acquisitions or you’re transporting them.” Takeda offered. “Rent a van, I can put some loose ropes on them, nothing serious, and you can pretend like you’re transporting them or something and they’re just staying overnight till the morning. Then you’ll bring them back in the morning. Daichi and Ennoshita would be the insurers.”

“That would be okay—since it’s fake.” Nishinoya shrugged. “That way we can surprise them, too.”

“I’ll call Daichi and Ennoshita and see if they’re available then.” Kuroo stood and pulled his phone from his pocket.

It was only a couple minutes before the alpha had everything arranged and left to rent a van to take them back to his apartment.

When they all arrived, the alpha’s fixed the group dinner then, Kuroo had the idea to have the omegas hide in his bedroom with Daichi and Ennoshita until after he met with Saeko and Akiteru. He turned on the air purifier to remove the pheromones of the omegas so that their surprise would be hidden. Even though they were both betas, Tsukishima and Tanaka had the feeling their siblings could still smell them a little.

They were ushered back to the bedroom when the pair arrived and Kuroo sat down with them at the table.

Tetsurō broke down what happened between their escape from the Tanaka household to hiding in an underground system. He even explained how he and one of his friends happened to meet Tsukishima and Hinata a year before their ultimate capture by the omega hunters. He went into himself seeing their capture and buying them off the black market and giving them to the sanctuary to be taken care of. At the end, he had to explain parts of why he and Tsukishima were close enough for the omega to ask about his brother and he explained as simply as he could in hopes that Akiteru wouldn’t be too mad. The beta didn’t look upset, instead he looked relieved.

“Can we meet them?” Saeko leaned across the table. “I’ve been worried sick about my brother.”

Kuroo looked up and saw Daichi peering around the corner. He gave a nod.

“You can meet them.”

“How soon?” Akiteru’s chair scraped across the floor when he stood up.

“Nii-san,” Tsukishima said from behind him at almost the same moment Tanaka said:

“Nee-san.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get updates on what I'm doing through my ko-fi! ko-fi.com/sifoote
> 
> On another note, we had a 5.7 earthquake this last morning where I live with over 50 aftershocks, two of which hit 4.4 and 4.6 in magnitude. My dad was working practically on top of the epicenter and he felt it all first hand, while our house (where my mom was working from home and I was still asleep) was a lot farther away so we didn't get the brunt of it. In my lifetime, I've never had an earthquake, at least not one I've felt. It was absolutely terrifying and my mom went into shock so bad (mostly from being terrified about my dad) that I considered calling 911 A LOT. My dad's work building was deemed unsafe to work in and he was sent home. I'm glad he came out only with a small scratch on his face after a coworker lost their balance and landed on him when the power went out. My friends and I are scared of more aftershocks hitting while we sleep. I never want to be woken up by an earthquake again. We don't get them where I live very often (for context, the last one was in 1992 and it was in the south part of my state, I live in the capital in the north) and the one before that was back in the 70s. I have a lot more sympathy for people affected by them now that I have felt one! We couldn't feel any aftershocks that were less than 3.6 in magnitude where I lived, so that was a small blessing. Nothing broken except part of a brick wall in our back yard. If you live in an area with lots of earthquakes, I feel for you. It was horrible.


	24. Chapter 24

They both whirled around to find the group of omegas standing in the living room with tears in their eyes.

“Kei!”

“Ryū!”

The omegas were bombarded by hugs. Other names being called out and lots of tears as they realized that all of them were safe and relatively unharmed.

“I thought I’d never see you again.” Akiteru had his brother in a second hug and didn’t seem like he’d let go anytime soon.

“Nii-san, you can let go.” He pled softly.

“A little while longer. I’m making up for being separated from you for over a year.”

Suga hid his laughter over Tsukishima’s predicament.

“We both thought the worst things might’ve happened.” Saeko gave a soft noogie to the top of Tanaka’s head.

“Yamaguchi is okay too.” Kei managed to fight his way out of Akiteru’s hold and he wandered over to Kuroo’s side—where he vainly hoped he’d be safer.

“But the yakuza—”

“Gave him a really good life.” Tsukishima managed a small smile. “They planned to give him to the sanctuary where we are—but somewhere along the way he fell in love.”

“You did too.” Akiteru gestured weakly between the two of them.

He gave non-verbal communication and found himself pulled into a side hug from the alpha.

“What is with all the hugging today?” He muttered under his breath.

“Kei, be more social.” Suga chastised.

“He’s always like this.” Akiteru laughed. “How long can you guys stay here?”

“Till morning.” Nishinoya provided. “That was the agreement we came to as long as Daichi and Ennoshita are here.”

“Who are they exactly?” Saeko narrowed her gaze.

“They’re my friends,” Kuroo provided.

“We also provide funds for the sanctuary to stay open and give good lives to omegas.” Daichi explained. "I'm a police officer."

“I’m a doctor and I do the omega examinations for the sanctuary.” Ennoshita gave a polite bow.

“Oh, a doctor.” She seemed impressed. “What do you report back to the sanctuary?”

“I focus on health risks. Each omega is usually assigned a number if they aren’t comfortable sharing their name, I use that number to identify them. I give a specific description of where an omega is lacking health wise to help get them on track.”

“Fascinating, come tell me more.” She wrapped her arm through the alpha’s and pulled him over to the couch.

“Before you get caught up, we have an announcement for you guys.” Akiteru glanced around at the omegas. “I’m sure Kuroo-san already knows.”

“I didn’t want to assume.” He grinned.

“What is it?” Hinata hopped onto one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

“Saeko and I got married.”

“You did?” Tanaka glanced between the both of them.

“We did. Looking for all of you pushed us together and there was really no one better for us.” Saeko gave her husband a soft, sappy look.

“How would you already know?” Tsukishima asked.

“I found Saeko-san’s Facebook profile and she had the Tsukishima last name.”

“That was how he found us.” She smiled. “I’m really glad he did.”

* * *

When it came to their sleeping arrangements for the night, Daichi and Ennoshita set up two futons for themselves in the living room. They offered a similar set-up for Akiteru and Saeko, but they decided to head back home for the night. A temporary nest was set-up in the guest room and when it was time for them all to split up for the night—Tsukishima found himself torn on where he should go.

“You can sleep in the same room as Kuroo if you want.” Suga reassured him softly.

“You know we aren’t actually doing anything more than sleeping, right?” Tsukishima fumbled his steps and tugged at his fingers.

“I know—but I also know you want to.” Kōshi laughed. “It’s okay if you want to be with your alpha. He’s a good guy—we wouldn’t be here without him.”

Tsukishima turned around in the hall and walked back to where Kuroo stood talking in the living room to his two friends.

“You okay?” He asked softly.

Tsukishima nodded and titled his lips to Kuroo’s ear. “I want to sleep in your bed tonight.”

“Tsuki—”

“I know what you said, I mean just sleeping.”

“Okay, we can do that. Is your pack okay by themselves?” Kuroo gave a slight wave to his friends as he headed back to the hall that connected the bedrooms and the bathroom.

“They gave me permission.”

“I feel like I’ve won some sort of a victory there.”

Tsukishima laughed quietly and let the alpha pull him into his bedroom. The bed was a queen size and it was covered in some thin blankets, but they looked soft. Without thinking, Tsukishima started to rearrange them a little to make them look more like a nest. The expression on Kuroo’s face as he watched made him stop.

“Sorry—I should’ve asked.”

“It makes me happy—among other inappropriate things—to see you nesting on my bed.” Kuroo walked to his dresser and pulled out a pair of pajama bottoms. “Do you want me to buy some material and you can build a nest if you ever stay over?”

“That sounds more like an invitation to stay forever.”

“I’m trying my best to not be forward with you. I want you to consider all my offers and decide what you want.”

“I’ve been considering it all.” The omega kneeled in the mess of blankets and watched as Kuroo quickly changed from his work slacks into his pajama bottoms. He made to approach the bed, but the omega stopped him. “I remember from the first night—you don’t sleep with a shirt on.”

The alpha smiled and nervously pulled off the article before he chucked it behind him at the clothes bin.

“I’ve thought about what’s in my future and after tonight, I’m sure of what I want.”

“Okay. What are you sure about?”

“I want you—I want to spend my next heat with you and become your mate. I still need to talk to my pack about leaving the sanctuary, but after tonight, I’m sure they’ll be supportive of me having a life here with you. Plus, I could still spend my days with them. It’d be boring to hang around here all the time, so Yamaguchi and could be dropped off at the sanctuary in the morning and hang out with my pack, then I’d come back here at night.”

“You have a full plan.” Kuroo’s eyes roved over the omega’s face for signs of uncertainty.

“I promised you that I would think about it. I like it here, but I also don’t want to hang around your apartment all day with no one to talk to. Since I can’t have a life out there, I do still want to be around my pack.” He looked down, uncertain. “Do you not want any of that?”

“Kei,” Tetsurō’s use of his first name made the omega look up. “I would take you right now and claim you as mine if you said it was okay. Though, maybe not because my friends are in the living room and your pack is in the other bedroom.”

Tsukishima laughed. “Then why haven’t you joined me in the bed?”

“You made it into your nest, I don’t want to intrude on your territory.”

“You’re the only one allowed to intrude.” He flopped back onto the soft mattress and curled up with one of the pillows.

Kuroo climbed into the bed and pulled the covers up over his body before he reached out and held the omega close. “If you have any nightmares—just remember I’m right here.”

“Okay.”

It didn’t take long for either of them to drift into a comfortable sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone else kind of disappointed by the 4th season thus far? I'm excited to have the show back, but after reading the manga, I feel like the pace is too quick. It's like they're trying to fit too much into a small span of time instead of drawing it out a little. Which is funny because I thought the first three seasons were a little slow. The animation quality in a few spots as well felt rushed... I know there are lots of people working hard on it and if they needed more time to do it justice, I would've been okay with waiting for it. Maybe it's just me. *shrugs*


	25. Chapter 25

His pack approved.

The Ukai’s approved.

Kuroo was picking him up that night to take him back to his apartment.

He sat nervously on the porch of the omega houses; a pillow clutched to his chest—his legs swung absentmindedly across the top of the grass.

Tsukishima wanted this. There was no doubt in his mind that this was something he wanted, but he couldn’t help the nerves sinking into his bones.

His lower body twitched as the early symptoms of his heat started to swirl around in his body and he simultaneously wished Kuroo would get there faster and never come at all.

There were quiet footsteps across the grass lawn, followed by a brief whisper of juniper on the night breeze. Kuroo knelt down on the grass in front of Tsukishima and put one his hands on the omega’s knee.

“We don’t have to do this right now—not if you don’t want to.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to.” Kei defended immediately. “I’m just a little scared.”

“What are you scared of?”

“Having a real knot.” He swallowed hard. “I know that my other packmate actually experienced an omega house and that it was different from what we have—but he had some bad stories about the couple times he was illegally knotted while in the house.”

“Do you want to talk about your worries?”

“He said that some alphas get violent after they knot an omega.”

“I can promise you that I’ve never shown any signs of aggression after popping a knot during my rut. I usually stay over at Daichi’s for it since I always had Kenma at my place. You can ask him if you want—alphas are usually more territorial with other alphas around.”

“I trust you.”

“Are you still scared?”

“Yes, but I don’t think there’s anything you can do to dissuade them. I’ve never been with an alpha before. It’s most just nerves from that—I think.”

“I’ve never been with an omega before either.” Kuroo stood up. “We’ll learn how this works together. If you ever don’t like something, just vocalize it. I don’t want to hurt you or make you uncomfortable.”

“Okay.”

“You’re sure you want to come home with me?”

“I’m sure.” Tsukishima stood up. “My heat’s already starting to affect me.”

“I’d better get you back to my apartment, then. You have a nest to build.” Kuroo put out his hand to the omega and he took it shyly. “Is the pillow a gift from your packmates?”

He nodded. “How am I going to build a nest at your apartment?”

“I bought some nesting materials for you. They’re neutral scented right now, but you can use them how you want.”

“Can you make them smell like you?” Kei buried his face into the pillow.

“Anything you want. If you want some ice-cream at midnight or two in the morning, I will go find it for you. I promise.”

“You talk a big game.”

“I can walk the walk.” Kuroo pulled Tsukishima into his side. “Stay close to me as we walk, it’s not too far, but I don’t want to risk anything happening.”

“Kuroo-san?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re planning to claim me tonight, right?”

Tetsurō looked down at him. “That was my plan. Do you not want me to?”

“It’s not that—I’m just not sure what it means. It means that I’m yours, right?”

“Yes, that is the meaning. It ties us together.”

“But you won’t be tied to me.”

“Tsukishima, you know you’re claiming me too.”

“I am?” His step brightened a little as they walked.

“Of course—this isn’t a one-way deal. If I’m getting you, then you’re getting me.” They stopped outside his building as Kuroo input the code to get inside. The walk up to his apartment was full of expectation.

Inside the genkan they toed off their shoes and Kuroo turned into the kitchen.

“What do you want for dinner?”

“Yakisoba.”

“Okay. I’ll scent the nesting stuff for you, and then you can work on your nest while I fix dinner.”

Tsukishima nodded and walked into the bedroom where the bed was mostly stripped of any formal bed-making folds in the sheets. Kuroo softly scented the new blankets and pillows before he left Tsukishima to build his nest however he wanted.

Tsukishima spent time building up the walls with a variety of pillows. He layered the bottom of the nest with a few blankets, then tucked them over the sides over the pillows before he layered on only a couple over the bed to cuddle in.

Once everything was situated, he settled down into the blankets and felt comfortable. The nest gave him a lovely sense of ease and he buried himself under the blankets for cover.

“Tsukki, are you ready for dinner?” Kuroo pushed open the door to his bedroom. His eyes scanned over the pile of blankets and the blond popped up out of the blankets. He looked sleepy.

“Yeah, dinner.”

“You don’t have to eat if you don’t want to.”

“I need food.” He climbed out of the nest and pulled down the top covers. He passed Kuroo in the hall and sat down at the kitchen table.

They ate their meal in relative silence and Kuroo refused Tsukishima’s offer to help clean up the dishes and leftovers.

“How are you feeling?”

“Full and sleepy.” Kei laid his head down on the table and watched with blurred eyes, not only from his glasses shifting positions, as the alpha moved around his kitchen.

“Good to hear.”

“How are you so calm?”

“What are you interpreting as calm?” Kuroo opened the fridge and put the leftover containers on one of the shelves.

“You’re doing such normal things and I feel like I’m just existing.”

“Are you trying to imply that I’m not thinking about what we’re doing?” He turned around and leaned over the counter into the dining area.

“That’s one way to put it.” Kei let his eyelids drift closed.

Quiet footsteps filtered through his mind as Kuroo walked out of the kitchen and over to the table. His clothes rustled and when Tsukishima opened his eyes, he found Kuroo right in front of him, crouched onto the floor.

“I’m thinking deeply about what we plan to do.” He took the omega’s hand in his and pressed it to his chest where he could feel the fast beating of his heart. “Right now, I’m making sure you’re taken care of. That’s incredibly important to me as your alpha—and I know you need it going into your heat.”

“Thank you.” Kei yawned.

“Let’s get you into your nest and when you wake up, we’ll see where we’re at.” Tetsurō gently scooped him into his arms and carried the blond back to his room where his nest was at. He tucked the omega into the blankets before he climbed in behind him. Kuroo pulled up the blankets and wrapped his arms around his stomach.

“I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“I love you.” Tsukishima whispered as he drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I started the Nishinoya/Asahi story line, as well as started the Yahaba/Kyoutani story line, I also finished the third chapter of "Rebel" which will be posted once this story is finished.
> 
> Please check out my original novel and leave a review so I know how and where to improve: [Elementalists: Nine United](http://www.inkitt.com/stories/2199)


	26. Chapter 26

Kei woke up in Kuroo’s arms and panicked for a fraction of a second when he realized it wasn’t his packmates around him. He could smell them faintly on the pillow near the head of the bed and it made him feel more comfortable and at home in his nest. He never had his own nest like he had with Kuroo—if own meant sharing it with your soon to be mate.

He wiggled around on the bed to face Kuroo, the early stages of his heat consumed him slowly. He liked soft touches the most because he wasn’t fully consumed by lust. Kei curled farther into the alpha’s embrace and purred softly when the man’s arms tightened around his waist.

Kuroo woke up in degrees, but by the time he was awake, he seemed fully aware of the pheromones from Tsukishima.

“Are you—”

“Yeah.”

“How come you didn’t wake me?”

“I’m not exactly lustful right now.” He let out a pleased sigh when he found the perfect spot under Kuroo’s chin. “I have a longer build-up and cuddling is just fine.”

“Okay.” The alpha pulled him closer and trailed soft patterns against the omega’s back. “Let me know as soon as that changes.”

“That’s why we’re both here.” The omega laughed softly and tried his best to fight off more sleep. Kuroo was warm.

“Hey, I got something I thought might help.” Tetsurō rolled away and opened the drawer to his nightstand. Tsukishima let out a low, annoyed noise that he was left abandoned. Kuroo let out a short laugh. “I’m still right here.”

“What did you get?” He opened his eyes and stared as the alpha produced a dildo—different from the ones they normally used.

“Is it just a beta one?” He stared at the smooth surface near the base.

“It has an inflatable knot that acts like mine will. I thought it might help you adjust a little easier.” He showed how the feature triggered.

Tsukishima blinked. “That’s intimidating.”

“It’s also biology.” Kuroo set the toy down on the bed behind the omega. “We don’t have to worry about that right now, though. We can talk about it until you’re ready.”

“There’s not exactly a lot of time for that.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Kei tugged at his fingers as he considered what he wanted to have happen. “Can we just scent for right now?”

“Anything.” The alpha moved forward and pressed his nose against the scent glands under his jawline and up along his neck behind his ear. He pressed a few soft kisses to the skin and licked them when the omega let out a soft whine.

“Kuroo-san,” he pushed at the alpha’s shoulders.

“What?”

“My heat—it’s coalescing.”

“You know, Kei,” he whispered the name against the omega’s ear and he shuddered. “You can call me Tetsurō when we’re in bed together.”

His hands trailed to the hem of the omega’s shirt and helped pull off the article of clothing. Tsukishima pushed at Kuroo’s clothing too and the alpha undressed first, settling back into the nest once he was naked.

“Do you want to stop?”

“No—no.” Kei pulled the alpha’s mouth to his for a long kiss.

Their tongues clashed together and Kuroo pushed his hands down to Tsukishima’s ass. He pushed off his pants without forethought and was overwhelmed by the smell of the omega’s heat.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

Tsukishima arched his back as two of Kuroo’s fingers swirled in his entrance before they were accepted warmly. He worked his way through the first dregs of Tsukishima’s heat and opened him up till a point where he could take three of the alpha’s fingers. He reached for the toy and pressed it softly against Kei.

“If it hurts, let me know and I’ll stop immediately.”

Once he received confirmation to proceed, he pressed the dildo into Tsukishima’s entrance and watched his face for subtle signs. He rolled over onto his belly and sighed when it bottomed out. He tiled his head so his hazy gaze could focus on his soon to be mate.

“It feels different when someone else does it.”

“Is it a good different?” Kuroo laid back against the blankets.

“Yes,” he breathed out softly. “It’s the pheromones, I think.”

“Let’s try out the knot—”

“Tetsu,” Tsukishima put his hand on Kuroo’s wrist. He stopped immediately. “I want you. I don’t care if it hurts, I want you.”

“Are you sure?”

Kei nodded furiously. “You’re right here—I don’t want the toys.”

He shifted and ran his thumb across the omega’s cheek. “Do you think you can give me a mating mark?”

The omega nodded and pointed at his own elongated canines.

Kuroo shifted down the bed and tilted his neck so that it would be easier to bite. “Bite me first. Once I’m in you, we won’t be a position to mutually claim each other.”

Tsukishima nodded and reached up to hold the alpha in place as he found the mating gland and bit into the soft flesh.

There was a flood of emotion which came with the bite he wasn’t expecting. It didn’t feel like his own—but it was full of love and devotion. He bit a little hard and dragged his teeth together as he pulled away to make sure it stayed.

Kuroo reached out and wiped a trail of saliva and blood away from the corner of Tsukishima’s mouth.

“You ready?”

He nodded and fed his fingers through Kuroo’s.

The alpha moved behind him and pulled his hand away long enough to help position them together. As he started to push in, he put his hand back with Tsukishima’s and their fingers tangled. Kei let out a short whine of pain as he first pressed in—unfamiliar with the feeling. His body settled into it and he felt his heat react to having an alpha inside him. He arched his back and wiggled his hips back as Kuroo thrust farther into him.

“Ah!” Kei cried out and tightened his grip on Tetsurō’s hand.

“Feel okay?”

“Yeah—it feels good.”

Kuroo pushed himself in until he was as far as he could reach and Tsukishima rubbed his hips back into the alpha and everything felt perfect. Tetsurō let out a soft gasp of pleasure as he pulled out before he slammed back in. The omega quaked under him and let out his own soft noises of enjoyment as he thrusted.

His knot started to inflate and the omega cried out when it tugged at the edges of his rectum.

When the knot caught, Kuroo bent forward and bit Tsukishima’s mating gland at the same time. Overstimulated, the omega collapsed into the blankets of his nest and groaned. The alpha didn’t want to crush his new mate, especially now that he was connected, not only to his own emotions and exhaustions, but the omega’s. He rolled them to the side and Kei made a pained noise as the knot pulled painfully at the skin.

“Sorry,” he pressed a quick kiss to the junction between the omega’s shoulder and neck.

“Is that all sex is?” Tsukishima asked quietly as he played with Kuroo’s fingers around his waist.

“Not necessarily—I didn’t want to hurt you. Are you saying you didn’t like it?”

“It was fine and it satisfied my heat—I just thought it might be a little more carnal.” He closed his eyes and tilted his head into the pillow at the head of the nest. “You made it sound like it was going to be harsher on my body.”

“I’ll be sure not to hold back as much as I did for your first time.” Kuroo slid one of his hands down until it wrapped around the omega’s dick.

He gasped and arched his back which caused a little pull against the knot and another wave of cum to burst past the seams.

“You have no idea how hard it is to hold back around you—but we’re mates. I don’t want you to hate me for taking advantage of you.”

“It’s not taking advantage if I’m giving myself to you.” The omega mumbled with a soft pout on his lips.

“Well,” Kuroo rolled his fingers around the pink tip of Kei’s cock. “Then, I won’t feel guilty pushing you a little harder.”

His other hand trailed down and traced patterns against the inside of the omega’s thighs, before they moved back to fondle the smaller testicles. The omega recoiled and tugged harshly at the knot, but he couldn’t move far.

“Come for me,” Kuroo whispered in his ear with a soft bite to the shell as he gave a firm tug to the cock.

Tsukishima let out a soft moan and watched hazily as his cum soaked into the blankets.

“Tetsurō,” he whispered.

“What is it, koibito?”

“Can you put my glasses somewhere where they won’t get dirty?”

“Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is kind of soft and crappy? I'm bad at this.
> 
> Please check out my original novel and leave a review so I know how and where to improve: [Elementalists: Nine United](http://www.inkitt.com/stories/2199)


	27. Epilogue

Tsukishima woke slowly to the feeling of something in his ass on the last day of his eat. He hummed hazily as he tried to process how Kuroo was attempting to get himself off. It was only a few moments before he realized, that the alpha was in the process of eating him out.

“Tetsu,” he whined.

“Kei,” Kuroo returned with a similar tone.

“I thought you were supposed to be taking what you want—not pleasuring me.”

“Who says I can’t do both?” He gave a sharp bite to the omega’s butt cheek. “I am personally enjoying every second I spend down here listening to your sleepy moans. I’ve never been more satisfied since I know you enjoy me in your sleep too.”

“But you have an unresolved problem, here.” He bent his body so he could give a sharp tap to the alpha’s cock. He heard a harsh hiss escape Kuroo’s mouth and he pulled away from the omega’s aching and exhausted entrance.

“Are you going to do anything about it?”

Kuroo didn’t expect the omega to put his mouth over his cock. He bucked his hips without thinking and the omega immediately pulled away choking.

“Kei, fuck, I’m so sorry.”

Tsukishima coughed. “Don’t apologize—just don’t do that.”

“Sorry—really, I’ll just focus here.” He nuzzled into the omega’s ass before he licked and sucked another soft drizzle of slick from the omega.

Kei pulled away from the alpha’s dick once the knot started to swell. “Tetsu.”

“I hear you.” Kuroo shifted them and moved to line up their bodies. He thrust in sharply and brutally until his knot caught and locked them together.

“I’m tired.” The blond pushed his face into one of the pillows, then recoiled when he realized it was covered in a mysterious bodily fluid. “And I need a bath.”

Tetsurō laughed and pulled him in tight. He rolled on his back so the omega laid out across his body. “Let me know if you get uncomfortable. We can have a bath together—soonish. Unless you feel like attempting to walk while knotted together?”

“Not a desire I have right now.” Kei settled in and tried to relax.

“Do you think your heat has ended?”

“Yes. It wasn’t nearly as miserable as being alone during it.”

“I’m glad I could help alleviate that.” Kuroo peppered his shoulders with soft kisses and bites. “And, I hope that you are okay being mated to me. I promise to take care of you.”

“I wouldn’t have asked you to mate with me if I wasn’t okay with everything that happened this last week.” Tsukishima turned his head away so Kuroo had more skin to access.

“That’s good to hear.”

“After we have a bath, can you fix us something to eat.”

“Anything you want.”

* * *

“Daichi, pleasure to hear from you.” Kuroo put the phone on speaker as he fixed himself and Tsukishima a meal after their week spent rolling around in each other. “You took me by surprise though, considering I told you I’d be busy.”

“It was more on the emergency side of things.” The alpha’s timbre voice filled the static.

“What happened?”

“The unimaginable really—I can hardly believe it myself and I saw it with my own eyes.”

“You’re scaring me.” Kuroo glanced at Tsukishima at the table in the dining room. His eyes were drooping and the soft smell of ripe strawberries flooded the room. At least the omega was happy.

“Iwaizumi—he found Oikawa.”

Kei snapped up at that name and the at ease smell vanished to be replaced with a distressed one.

“He found Oikawa?”

“Yeah—he was at the sanctuary, the unnamed one from Sugawara’s group.” Daichi let out a low laugh. “That’s the last place I expected to see him honestly.”

Kuroo’s eyes met Tsukishima’s wide and worried brown ones. “Yeah, I can agree with you there. How did he figure out it was Oikawa? The pictures of him haven’t been released publicly in the sanctuary.”

“We were visiting Ukai and Takeda and were on the porch when he spotted him out in the yard. He took off before anyone could stop him. I think he was in shock.”

“I would be too.”

Kei let out a soft whine of distress over his friend and started to tug at his fingers.

“Look, Daichi, I’m glad you called, but the news has made Kei distressed. We can talk about this later, right?”

“Of course. I’ll go console Iwaizumi—he was pretty torn up when Oikawa ran away from him.” Daichi’s voice moved farther from the receiver. “Talk to you later, Kuroo.”

“Bye.”

Kuroo walked around the counter and kneeled down in front of Tsukishima.

“Is there any part of Oikawa’s story that you can tell me?”

“He was in the omega house.” Kei looked away.

“I understand—it’s not your story to tell.” Tetsurō lifted the omega out of the chair and pulled him close to his body. “Oikawa’s going to be okay. His identity may have been revealed against his wishes, but Ukai is going to protect him. If that means keeping his best friend away from him, he will. Iwaizumi knows the rules.”

“I trust you.” The blond buried his face in Kuroo’s neck. “I’m just worried about how he feels—he didn’t want anyone to know what happened.”

“Let’s go visit him. I’ll stay behind at the house and you can go see how Oikawa is doing.” He hoisted him into the air and walked toward the front door. “You’ll see how safe everything will be for him.”

“Tetsu,” Kei whispered.

“What is it?”

“I’m really glad you’re my mate.”

“I am too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... we've come to the end of this story. I am much more satisfied with this story line than the one I created in "Sanctuary". I also like the lead in to moving to "Rebel". I hope you enjoy the Oikawa/Iwaizumi plot the comes next! Or if you want to stop here, that's fine. In the end, I am happy with how this ended.
> 
> Please check out my original novel and leave a review so I know how and where to improve: [Elementalists: Nine United](http://www.inkitt.com/stories/2199)


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